From five summers at Space Camp in Huntsville to a historic journey around the Moon, astronaut Christina Koch has spent much of her life preparing for the next challenge.

Now, she’s taking on a new role at NASA, one that will keep her feet firmly on the ground.

NASA announced Tuesday that Koch will become the agency’s acting deputy chief engineer Nov. 1, succeeding Katherine Van Hooser, a longtime NASA engineer whose career began at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

The appointment marks another milestone for Koch, a five-time Space Camp alumna who attended the Huntsville program every summer from 1992 through 1996 and was inducted into the Space Camp Hall of Fame in 2019.

Koch will help lead NASA’s engineering community, overseeing technical work, mission readiness and engineering standards across the agency’s programs.

The new position also means Koch will transition to management astronaut status and will no longer be eligible for future spaceflight assignments.

“Christina has seen NASA engineering from both sides of the equation: developing complex systems on the ground and trusting them with her life in space,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.

“After spending nearly a year living and working aboard the International Space Station and helping lead America back around the Moon on Artemis II this year, she brings an extraordinary combination of technical expertise, operational experience, and judgment to this role.”

Koch most recently served as a mission specialist aboard Artemis II in April, becoming part of the first crew to travel around the Moon in more than 50 years.

The mission launched April 1 aboard NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, managed by Marshall Space Flight Center, and returned to Earth April 10.

During a September visit to Huntsville, Koch and her fellow Artemis II astronauts met with the teams who helped make the mission possible.

“We couldn’t be happier to be with people that we consider our family,” Koch said during the visit. “We were surrounded by these teams throughout our preparation.”

“We built that trust that we talked about by working with them on getting to root cause of any things we were chasing down before we ever said we were ready to fly this thing,” she said. “That trust turned into gratitude, turned into congratulations. And that’s why we’re here.”

Before Artemis II, Koch spent 328 consecutive days aboard the International Space Station, setting the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. She also participated in the first all-female spacewalk.

An electrical engineer, Koch began her NASA career at Goddard Space Flight Center, developing scientific instruments for space missions. Her experience also includes scientific field engineering in Antarctica and the Arctic.

Van Hooser will retire Oct. 21 after more than 35 years with the agency.  Van Hooser joined NASA in 1991 at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center, working in liquid rocket engine turbomachinery.

She later became chief engineer for the space shuttle main engine, overseeing engineering efforts during the shuttle program’s final 21 flights.

Van Hooser also served as the first chief engineer for the Space Launch System’s Liquid Engines Element and eventually became Marshall’s chief engineer before moving into the agencywide deputy chief engineer position in 2023.

“Katherine has been an extraordinary leader throughout her career, bringing technical expertise, sound judgment, and an unwavering commitment to mission success to some of NASA’s most complex engineering challenges,” said Amit Kshatriya, NASA associate administrator and chief engineer.

“Her leadership has strengthened our engineering community and helped guide the agency through critical milestones and transitions.”

Kshatriya said Koch’s combination of engineering experience and firsthand knowledge of human spaceflight will serve the agency well.

“Christina brings a unique combination of engineering expertise, operational experience, and proven leadership, both on the ground and in space,” he said.

For Koch, the appointment brings another chapter in a career that began taking shape decades ago at Huntsville’s Space Camp.

From a young camper dreaming of spaceflight to an astronaut who traveled around the Moon, Koch will now help guide the engineering work behind NASA’s future missions.

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