Author Topic: NASA Selects Commercial Crew Program Manager (Read 4723 times)

jacqmans · « **on:** 04/21/2014 02:41 pm »

April 21, 2014

NASA Selects Commercial Crew Program Manager

NASA has selected Kathy Lueders as program manager for the agency's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). Lueders, who has served as acting program manager since October 2013, will help keep the nation's space program on course to launch astronauts from American soil by 2017 aboard spacecraft built by American companies.

"This is a particularly critical time for NASA's human spaceflight endeavors as the Commercial Crew Program enters into contract implementation," said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Kathy’s experience and leadership skills developed during the ISS commercial resupply contract activity will be critical to safely and effectively leading commercial crew transportation activities for NASA."

Lueders, who will be assigned to the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, previously served as the International Space Station Program's transportation integration manager, where she managed commercial cargo resupply services to the space station. Lueders also was responsible for NASA oversight of international partner spacecraft visiting the space station, including the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle, the Japanese Space Agency's H-II Transfer Vehicle, and the Russian Federal Space Agency's Soyuz and Progress spacecraft.

"It’s exciting to think that I’ll be continuing to utilize my background and leadership experience with the International Space Station to help the Commercial Crew Program team and our industry partners execute the next phase," said Lueders.

Lueders began her NASA career at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico in 1992, where she managed the Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System and Reaction Control Systems Depot. She served in numerous positions in the space station program, including the deputy manager for station logistics and maintenance, the vehicle systems integration manager, and the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services integration manager.

Lueders has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of New Mexico and a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from New Mexico State University.

For more information on NASA's Commercial Crew Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

Prober · « **Reply #1 on:** 04/21/2014 06:01 pm »

Anyone know if she will be under the HSD or how does this work?

yg1968 · « **Reply #2 on:** 04/22/2014 01:34 am »

From what I recall, Mango's boss was McAlister and McAlister's boss is Gerst. So it should be the same for her, I would imagine.

QuantumG · « **Reply #3 on:** 04/22/2014 01:38 am »

"commercial in a government way"

Oh dear.

A_M_Swallow · « **Reply #4 on:** 04/22/2014 01:52 am »

Congratulation to Kathy Lueders on getting the Commercial Crew program job. Just in time to take the blame, so she needs to watch her back.

Good luck and do a good job.

Elmar Moelzer · « **Reply #5 on:** 04/22/2014 01:40 pm »

Quote from: A_M_Swallow on 04/22/2014 01:52 am

Just in time to take the blame, so she needs to watch her back.

Take the blame for what? The insufficient funding?

A_M_Swallow · « **Reply #6 on:** 04/22/2014 02:36 pm »

Quote from: Elmar Moelzer on 04/22/2014 01:40 pm

Quote from: A_M_Swallow on 04/22/2014 01:52 am
Just in time to take the blame, so she needs to watch her back.
Take the blame for what? The insufficient funding?

It is when you try using something that the remaining mistakes are revealed. The current manager is blamed by outsiders even if the mistake was made by her predecessors. Kathy Lueders is due to be in office for the manned CCP launches to the ISS.

Insufficient funding is just the start of the possible problems. Others including completing late, being over budget and technical problems. Technical problems that the public may recognise include failures similar to Apollo 1, Apollo 13, Challenger 1986 and Columbia 2003.

Elmar Moelzer · « **Reply #7 on:** 04/22/2014 02:57 pm »

Quote from: A_M_Swallow on 04/22/2014 02:36 pm

Others including completing late, being over budget and technical problems. Technical problems that the public may recognise include failures similar to Apollo 1, Apollo 13, Challenger 1986 and Columbia 2003.

How can something be over budget that has never been fully funded anyway? It is already delayed by years, again due to the lack of funding. Accidents like Apollo1, Challenger and Columbia seem rather unlikely. STS did not have an escape system like all commercial crew contenders have. None of the new systems is side mounted like the shuttle and two use a completely different TPS anyway, so damage to the TPS like Columbia is less likely. That said, there is still a chance for error and some risk to the crew. But that is human spaceflight. If you don't want any risk, don't fly.

Prober · « **Reply #8 on:** 04/22/2014 04:01 pm »

Quote from: A_M_Swallow on 04/22/2014 01:52 am

Congratulation to Kathy Lueders on getting the Commercial Crew program job. Just in time to take the blame, so she needs to watch her back.

Good luck and do a good job.

She does have logistics in her background. Not sure regarding her HS background. Now days (don't take offense) I wonder who is a political appointee and who is appointed by skills.

As to your point about "blame" I agree with you. The canned news release (2017) doesn't take in the slip I heard from Girst. Take a look again at the spaceX presser, he said 2018.