Science
Christina Koch moves into NASA engineering leadership on November 1
NASA names the astronaut acting deputy chief engineer. The appointment changes her role to management astronaut status, ending eligibility for future flight assignments.
By NewsCubby Editorial Desk · Published · Updated
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Christina Koch will begin serving as NASA’s acting deputy chief engineer on November 1, the agency announced October 13. Katherine Van Hooser retires October 21 after more than 35 years at NASA.
A leadership appointment, not a flight assignment
NASA describes responsibility for technical oversight and mission readiness across its programmes. It also says Koch will enter management astronaut status and cease being eligible for future spaceflight assignments. Her next job and her completed flights are therefore separate parts of the announcement.
Koch’s experience includes the April 2026 Artemis II mission, a 328-day stay aboard the International Space Station and participation in the first all-female spacewalks. Before joining the astronaut corps in 2013, she developed scientific instruments as an electrical engineer at Goddard.
Why that background matters
An engineering leadership role considers how systems are designed and assessed before crews depend on them. Koch brings both instrument-development experience and experience using spacecraft in flight. That connection explains the appointment’s emphasis on engineering judgment; it does not announce the approval or completion of another mission. For related work, see NASA’s planned station health investigations.
Photograph and credit
The accompanying social photograph was taken inside Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building on July 14, 2021. It is a file image, not a photograph of the new appointment.