KSC Director Petro to be Acting NASA Administrator

In a move that surprised even NASA officials, the Trump Administration has named Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro to be Acting Administrator. Ordinarily the job goes to the top civil servant in the agency, Associate Administrator, currently held by Jim Free. Petro is the first woman to serve as Acting Administrator.

Typically presidential appointees throughout the government depart along with the president who appointed them. There can be exceptions —  Dan Goldin was NASA administrator from the end of George H. W. Bush’s presidency through all of Bill Clinton’s and into the beginning of George W. Bush’s — but usually noon on inauguration day is the end of the term for NASA’s presidentially appointed officials: Administrator, Deputy Administrator, and Chief Financial Officer.  NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy said farewell on Friday.

Here at @NASA, humanity’s capacity to discover—and America’s capacity to lead—shines bright.

Thank you to the NASA family, who embodies the can-do spirit that makes our country exceptional. It has been the honor of my life to stand and serve with you. pic.twitter.com/Eqr4T2rPbR

— Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) January 17, 2025

Until a new administrator is confirmed by the Senate, the top civil servant historically fills in as Acting Administrator. Every expectation was that Jim Free, Associate Administrator, would take on that task as reflected on NASA’s website this afternoon.

But at 5:05 pm ET today, the White House issued a list of individuals “to perform the functions and duties of the indicated positions in an acting capacity until the position is filled by appointment.”  For NASA, the name on the list is Janet Petro.

 

In an emailed statement at 9:43 pm ET this evening, NASA confirmed Petro is in charge.

“The Trump Administration has named Janet Petro the acting administrator of NASA, effective Monday. Petro has served as the center director of the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.” — NASA statement

[UPDATE, January 21: NASA says KSC Deputy Director Kelvin Manning will serve as acting KSC Director. In addition, Stephen Shinn is NASA’s Acting CFO. There is no Acting Deputy Administrator.]

Petro has been KSC Director since June 2021. She had been Deputy Director since 2007. Before that she served in management positions at Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) and as a mechanical engineer, payload manager, and in management roles at McDonnell Douglas Aerospace Corp.  A West Point graduate with a B.S. in engineering, she also has a Master’s degree in business administration from Boston University’s Metropolitan College.

She is the first woman to serve as Acting Administrator according to NASA’s history website. That website lists Free as Acting Adminstrator today, further signalling what a surprise the White House’s decision is.

Trump’s nomination of Jared Isaacman to be the new NASA Administrator was formally sent to the Senate today, but it’s not clear how long it will take for him to be confirmed.

 

This article has been updated.