New Delhi:
Janet Petro has been appointed as acting administrator of NASA, the US space agency announced this week after President Donald Trump took office.
However, Petrou is the first woman to lead NASA for an interim period. No woman has led NASA since its founding in 1958. He succeeds Bill Nelson, who served as the 14th NASA Administrator.
“Janet Petro is the acting Administrator of NASA. In this role, Petro is responsible for directing the agency, including budget and programs, until a new Administrator is confirmed by the U.S. Senate,” NASA said in a statement.
Notably, Trump had nominated entrepreneur and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman for NASA Administrator in December 2024.
Petro previously served as the 11th director of NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. His profile included management of the Kennedy team of civil service and contractor staff, setting and implementing Center policy, and managing and implementing Kennedy mission and agency program responsibilities.
He also served as acting director and Kennedy’s deputy director.
“During his tenure as Deputy Director, Petro helped transform Kennedy into a multi-user spaceport, streamlining government processes and supporting commercial space operations to increase government efficiency and limit redundancies. “Cross-agency initiative with the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Air Force,” NASA said.
He also has a 12-month appointment as deputy associate administrator and acting director for the Office of Evaluation at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Petro began his professional career as a commissioned officer in the US Army.
He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, and also earned a Master of Science degree in Business Administration from Boston University’s Metropolitan College.
Meanwhile, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy also left office along with Nelson.
Jim Frey has been appointed the new Associate Administrator of NASA. He will be a senior advisor to the NASA Administrator.
“Free will be led by the agency’s 10 center directors, as well as associate administrators for the Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington,” the agency said.
Previously, Free was responsible for developing NASA’s Moon to Mars architecture, defining and managing systems development for NASA’s Artemis missions, and planning NASA’s integrated deep space exploration approach.
(TagstoTranslate)Janet Petro
