Overview
In September 2021, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced the agency was creating two new mission directorates that would best position the agency for the next 20 years. The move separated the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate into the new Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate and Space Operations Mission Directorate.
NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate is responsible for enabling sustained human exploration missions and operations in our solar system.
Space Operations manages NASA’s current and future space operations in and beyond low Earth orbit, including commercial launch services to the International Space Station. The directorate operates and maintains exploration systems, develops and operates space transportation systems, and performs broad scientific research on orbit. In addition, Space Operations is responsible for managing the space transportation services for NASA and NASA-sponsored payloads that require orbital launch, and the agency’s space communications and navigation services supporting all NASA’s space systems currently in orbit.
Since inception, NASA has selected 360 astronaut candidates: 299 men, 61 women; 212 military, 138 civilians; 191 pilots, 159 non-pilots.
Leadership
- Associate Administrator: Joel R. Montalbano (acting)
- Deputy Associate Administrator, Management: Alesyn Lowry
Division/Office Leads
- Deputy Associate Administrator of Space Communications and Navigation Division: Kevin Coggins
- Director, Launch Services Office: Bradley Smith
- Director, Human Spaceflight Capabilities Division: Benjy Neumann
- Director, International Space Station Division: Robyn Gatens
- Director, Commercial Space Division: Robyn Gatens (acting)
- Director, NASA Space Sustainability Division: Benjamin Alvin Drew
- Director, Cross-Directorate Technical Integration: Stephen Bowen (acting)
- Director, Strategic Integration & Management Division: Diana K. Oglesby
- Director, Resources Management Office: Elaine Slaugh
