NASA names new acting Johnson Space Center director, promotes Vanessa Wyche

The Johnson Space Center will have a new acting director following leadership changes throughout NASA, including the promotion of Vanessa Wyche, who has served as director of Johnson Space Center since 2021, officials announced Feb. 24.

What you need to know

Johnson Space Center Deputy Director Stephen Koerner will take over the role as acting director, according to a Feb. 24 news release from NASA.

He will take over the role from Wyche, who is being tapped for the role of acting associate administrator for NASA at its headquarters in Washington D.C., according to the release. Wyche's new role is one of the three highest-ranking positions in the agency, according to the agency's leadership page.

In the new role, Wyche will oversee roughly 18,000 civil servants and an annual budget totaling more than $25 billion, according to the release. She will also lead the agency's 10 center directors and its mission directorate associate administrators.

The background

Prior to the promotion, Wyche has served as director of Johnson Space Center since 2021, according to NASA’s website. JSC is home to America’s astronaut corp, acting as the agency’s mission control center for various missions and programs.

Prior to taking over the role of director, she served as the center’s deputy director starting in 2018, according to NASA’s website. She has been with NASA since 1989.

Koerner has served as deputy director since 2021 and prior to that, held various leadership roles within Johnson Space Center, according to the release. Those have included:

• Flight operations directorate
• Associate director
• Chief financial officer
• Deputy director of flight operations
• Deputy director of mission operations

In the news release, NASA acting administrator Janet Petro said she expects Wyche and Koerner to continue to provide “exceptional leadership” in their new roles.

“These appointments reflect NASA's unwavering commitment to excellence, and I have full confidence that each of these leaders will carry our vision forward with purpose, integrity and a relentless drive to succeed,” Petro said in the release.

What else?

The promotions at JSC were some of many leadership changes announced at NASA, according to the release. Others included appointing Jackie Jester to associate administrator for the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, and Catherine Koerner as associate administrator for the agency’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, which will become effective Feb. 28.

Lori Glaze, the current deputy associate for Explorations System Development within NASA, will become the mission directorate’s acting associate administrator as well, according to the release.