NASA Astronaut Candidate Katherine Spies

Katherine Spies

Summary

Katherine Spies was selected by NASA to join the 2025 astronaut candidate class. She reported for duty in September 2025. An AH-1 attack helicopter pilot and Marine Corps test pilot, she has accumulated over 2,000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft and is a graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland. The California native holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Southern California and a master’s in design engineering from Harvard University. At the time of her selection, she worked for Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation as the director of flight test engineering.

Personal

Spies was born in Mission Viejo, California, but she considers San Diego, her hometown. Her mother, Jeanie Spies, resides in San Diego, and her father, Harry Spies, a retired Marine Corps colonel, is fondly remembered.

She is an avid runner and backcountry skier who enjoys painting and sharing adventures with family and friends.

Spies pursued a year of solo global travel through the Balkans, Southwest China, Southeast Asia, and the Arctic Circle. She later worked as an alpine ski instructor in Utah, earning Professional Ski Instructors of America Level I certification.

Education

Spies graduated from James W. Robinson, Jr. Secondary School in Fairfax, Virginia. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Southern California in 2004. She graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, in 2012. She earned a master’s degree in design engineering from Harvard University, a joint program between the Graduate School of Design and the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, in 2019.

Experience

Spies was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in 2004, after earning her bachelor’s degree. She completed The Basic School at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, and flight training in Pensacola, Florida, earning her Naval Aviator wings in 2006. She trained as an AH-1W Super Cobra pilot with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Training Squadron 303 before beginning her operational career with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 267 at Camp Pendleton, California.

After being promoted to captain in 2008, Spies completed overseas deployments with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the USS Peleliu, supporting operations in various regions, including the Middle East. She later served with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, working across parts of Asia and the Pacific. In 2011, she was stationed abroad with I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

In 2012, Spies was selected for the United States Naval Test Pilot School. She then was assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 21 as the UH-1Y/AH-1Z project officer and AH-1W platform coordinator. She has logged more than 2,000 flight hours, including more than 300 in combat. Spies continues to serve as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserve.

Following her active military service, Spies joined Amazon Prime Air as a developmental flight test and engineering leader, where she built comprehensive evaluation frameworks for autonomous drone delivery systems. At the time of her selection, she worked with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation as the director of flight test engineering, leading the certification and flight test programs for the company’s G700 and G800 aircraft.

NASA Experience

Spies reported for duty in September 2025 to complete two years of initial astronaut training.

Awards/Honors

Academically, Spies received the Ronald G. Minet Award for Best Design Project and Charles J. Rebert Chemical Engineering Outstanding Service Award at the University of Southern California, she finished in the top 5% at Officer Candidate School, earned the Commodore’s Award for Academic Achievement during flight school, and was selected as a Harvard Graduate School Leadership Initiative Fellow.

During her military service, she earned the Air Medal (five awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two stars, NATO Medal for service in Afghanistan, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and multiple unit commendations.

Organizations

Society of Experimental Test Pilots; Society of Flight Test Engineers; Socrates, The Aspen Institute; Professional Ski Instructors of America.

Pronunciation

KATH-uh-rin SPEES