NASA names new director for Kennedy Space Center

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s Kennedy Space Center has a new director and she is the first woman to lead the center.

“I really feel privileged to be sitting here today and what I call the second generation of workers and the second major leap we’re making during this Artemis generation,” said new Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro.

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Petro has served as the Kennedy Space Center’s deputy director since 2007, and played a central role in the center’s transition into a multi-user spaceport with new commercial and government partners.

She took over as acting director in May after former Director Bob Cabana was promoted to NASA’s associate administrator.

And Petro’s roots on Florida’s Space Coast run deep.

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“My father moved my rather large family down back in the early 60s, even before Kennedy was a center,” Petro said. “He was among the first workers who put together the Apollo program that took astronauts to the moon as well as the early days of the shuttle program.”

Now she’s ready to help the Kennedy Space Center reach new milestones.

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“Our leadership teams is amazing, our workforce is amazing and we have the best if not the coolest missions in the government and having a motivated highly dedicated workforce is key to helping us make good on all the commitments we’ve made,” she said.

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