Who is Janet Petro, 1st female to lead NASA as acting administrator

New Delhi: Janet Petro has been appointed as the acting administrator of NASA, the US space agency announced after President Donald Trump took charge this week.

Although for an interim period, Petro is the first female to lead NASA. No female has ever led NASA since its inception in 1958. She replaces Bill Nelson, who served as the 14th NASA administrator.

“Janet Petro is NASA’s acting administrator. In this role, Petro is responsible for directing the agency, including budget and programmes, until a new administrator is confirmed by the US Senate,” said NASA in a statement.

Notably, Trump nominated entrepreneur and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman for NASA administrator in December 2024.

Petro previously served as the 11th director of NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Her profile included managing the Kennedy team of civil service and contractor employees, determining and implementing centre policy, and managing and executing Kennedy missions and agency programme responsibilities.

She had also served as acting director and Kennedy’s deputy director.

“During her tenure as deputy director, Petro helped Kennedy transition into a multi-user spaceport, leading cross-agency initiatives with the Federal Aviation Administration and US Air Force to streamline government processes and support commercial space operations to increase government efficiency and limit redundancy,” NASA said.

She has also served a 12-month appointment at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. as the deputy associate administrator and acting director for the Office of Evaluation. Petro began her professional career as a commissioned officer in the US Army.

She graduated in 1981 from the US Military Academy at West Point, New York, with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, and also holds a Master of Science degree in business administration from Boston University’s Metropolitan College.

Meanwhile, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy also left the office, along with Nelson.

Jim Free has been appointed as the new NASA associate administrator. He will be the senior advisor to NASA administrator.

“Free will lead the agency’s 10 center directors as well as the mission directorate associate administrators at NASA Headquarters in Washington,” the agency said.

Previously, Free was responsible for the development of NASA’s Moon to Mars architecture, defining and managing the systems development for NASA’s Artemis missions, and planning for NASA’s integrated deep space exploration approach.

–IANS