Janet Petro became the first woman to lead NASA on Jan. 20, after U.S. President Donald Trump appointed her to be acting administrator on his first day back in office. Here’s what we know about the new head of the space agency.
This appointment came as something of a surprise to many. Often, as a new administration takes office, the incumbent NASA administrator stands down to make way. Ordinarily, the job goes to the top civil servant in the agency, namely the associate administrator, who is currently Jim Free, as Space Policy Online observed. However, Trump’s appointment of Petro means she takes the role instead of Free.
Petro was born in Michigan in 1960. Her interest in space and the U.S. space program was sparked at an early age, influenced by her father’s work with Chrysler on NASA projects, which saw the family relocate to Florida. That allowed her and her siblings to watch from the beach as the historic Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions lifted off.
During high school, inspired by the opening of military academies to women, she applied and was accepted to leadership training at the United States Military Academy at West Point. There, she learned valuable lessons in time management, motivation and collaboration, which have been instrumental throughout her career.
She graduated from West Point with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in 1981 before entering the army, flying helicopters on assignments in Germany. After five years of service, she moved into engineering and management positions in the private sector. In 1988, she earned a master’s degree in business administration from Boston University’s Metropolitan College.
Petro was appointed deputy director of John F. Kennedy Space Center, where her father earlier worked, in 2007. “I was deeply, deeply honored,” she told Space Coast Living. On June 30, 2021, she was appointed KSC’s first woman director by then-NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
This was followed by her new historic appointment as the first woman to head NASA since its founding in 1958. Petro said she was “humbled and honored,” in a LinkedIn post. “NASA will continue to support and align with the policies set forth by the new administration, while remaining steadfast in our commitment to NASA’s mission and core values,” she wrote.
One of her first acts as NASA’s acting administrator was to email staff to inform them that the agency was taking steps to close all Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) offices and end all DEIA-related contracts in compliance with an executive order by President Donald Trump, Ars Technica reported.
“These programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars and resulted in shameful discrimination,” a reported memo from Petro read, according to Ars.
Though urging the stated policies in recent days, Petro has earlier publicly noted the struggles women face. “As women, we have had to overcome certain inherent obstacles in our lives to get to where we are today. It is neither right, nor wrong — it’s just how it is. But, in the long run, I think it renders women as stronger and better contenders,” Petro wrote in a personal essay on NASA’s website, for instance.
Petro has since appointed Michael Altenhofen, a long-time technical executive at SpaceX, as a senior advisor to the acting NASA administrator. This follows concerns from some quarters, noted in a report by Ars Technica, that Elon Musk and SpaceX may have a growing influence on the agency, given Musk’s closeness to President Trump and his role in the election campaign.
As acting NASA administrator, Petro is expected to be succeeded by Jared Isaacman, a billionaire, philanthropist and private astronaut who has flown on SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Isaacman, nominated by Trump late last year to head up NASA, will need to go through the confirmation process in the U.S. Senate. His nomination was formally sent to the Senate on Jan. 20, but there is currently no indication of how long it will take before he is confirmed.
Petro will continue as NASA’s acting administrator and be responsible for directing the agency, including budget and programs, until Isaacman is confirmed.
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