Janet Petro ’81 has been named director of Kennedy Space Center in Florida by NASA administrator Bill Nelson. Petro has served as the acting director of Kennedy since May 17.
“It's an honor to be selected to lead Kennedy Space Center,” Petro said. “Having grown up on Florida's Space Coast and being the second generation in my family to work at Kennedy Space Center, it's truly exciting to help grow the multi-user spaceport as we prepare for Artemis and continue launching commercial crew missions to the International Space Station.”
Prior to being named Kennedy's acting director, Petro had served as the center's deputy director since 2007. She was central to Kennedy's transition to a multi-user spaceport, bringing a variety of new commercial and government partners to Kennedy. She led cross-agency initiatives with the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Air Force to streamline government processes and support commercial space operations, increase government efficiency, and limit redundancy.
At Kennedy, Petro will oversee the center's world class multi-user spaceport, supporting both commercial customers and NASA's science and human exploration missions.