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I am Building SLS: Renee Horton

Renee Horton
Renee Horton

I spent many nights gazing at the stars as a child growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, wondering if there was anything beyond our universe. My interest in space was stimulated during family trips to Biloxi, Mississippi, to visit my uncle, who was in the Air Force. We stopped at the rest area outside of Stennis Space Center — where a replica of the moon lander was located — and I played around it, pretending I was exploring space. One day, I decided I wanted to be an astronaut. I joined the Air Force ROTC program, and during my physical, I learned that I had significant hearing loss. Later, I was diagnosed with a hearing impairment, which meant I couldn’t apply to be an astronaut. But, I learned I could still play an important role in sending crews to space.

The Space Launch System is the first flight program I have worked on at NASA.  Many SLS parts — including the SLS core stage — are made of metal, including the largest rocket fuel tank ever built, and metallic materials and welding are my areas of expertise. As an engineer at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, I am helping build metal rocket parts that can withstand the extreme forces of launch and space travel, and will send astronauts farther away from Earth than they’ve ever traveled before. Our team at Michoud is making history every day as we build this extraordinary new rocket. We’re moving one step closer to launching the most powerful rocket in the world, and it’s exciting to watch all of it come together.

I earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Louisiana State University. My electrical engineering degree was influenced by my father. I loved math, and he thought that would be the best way to use my talents. I later switched to being a scientist because of my desire to learn and investigate. Physics is my passion.

I’m the first African American — and first in my family — to earn a doctorate in material science, with a concentration in physics, from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. 

I enjoy mentoring outside of work, writing poetry, reading and photography.