SpaceX Taps NASA's Former Human Spaceflight Head Kathy Lueders to Oversee Starship

As the company continues to develop its moon and Mars rocket called Starship, SpaceX hired a new head to oversee the launching system. This represents another key hire for the company, as it races to produce and use the rocket for landing astronauts on the moon.

Hiring NASA's Former Head

NASA's former Human Spaceflight Head Kathy Lueders has been hired by SpaceX to oversee the development of Starship. According to a report from CNBC, her role will be General Manager as she will work out of the company's Starbase facility, located in Texas. Lueders will directly report to SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell.

This follows after announcing her retirement from the agency only a couple of weeks ago. It represents a key hire for the company, especially since Lueders has been very familiar with the company's human spaceflight work to date. SpaceX did not confirm any information regarding Lueders' hiring.

Lueders becomes the second head of NASA to announce retirement and join SpaceX, following former NASA Head Bill Gerstenmaier. He retired from the agency in 2020 as its human spaceflight chief to join the company for a similar role to his previous job overseeing Starship.

Previous Role in NASA

Reuters reported that Lueders spent 31 years in the company, following the announcement of her retirement only last month. She took responsibility as NASA's source selection official, who picked the SpaceX Starship rocket for a $3 billion contract from Artemis in order to land its first US astronauts on the moon since 1972.

She was also part of the team credited for NASA's shift to public-private contracting models, which saved a lot to help fund the development of private spacecraft and purchase rides for astronauts as a service, rather than managing the spacecraft as its owner.

However, Lueders moved away from overseeing the moon program as part of a major reorganization in 2021. NASA placed her as the Space Operations Chief to oversee ISS Activities.

During her stay at NASA as the head of the Human Spaceflight Wing, TechCrunch reported that the former chief oversaw the development of the Crew Dragon, which is SpaceX's flagship cargo and astronaut taxi. This has become the primary ride of the agency from the International Space Station.

SpaceX is considering upping the ante with Starship despite completing six astronaut transportation missions to and from the ISS and already proved its human spaceflight heritage with NASA. The launch system will be used to land humans on the moon as part of the Artemis progam.

Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk stated that he also envisions it as space transportation that may possibly help people to reach Mars.