Janet Petro retires after NASA management profession at Kennedy Space Center

The director of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is retiring on the heels of Artemis II, the primary crewed spaceflight to enterprise past low-Earth orbit in additional than 50 years.

NASA introduced Janet Petro’s retirement as KSC’s eleventh director efficient Friday, May 1. Kelvin Manning, who beforehand served as deputy heart director, is now serving as appearing heart director.

Petro was named KSC’s deputy director in 2007, then turned the primary lady to function director in June 2021. She additionally served as NASA’s appearing administrator from January to July 2025 — the primary lady to fill that position.

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“From the outset of her distinguished tenure at NASA, Janet has served as a profoundly influential leader, guiding both the agency and our Kennedy Space Center through some of the most significant transitions in our shared history, including playing a central role in reshaping NASA Kennedy into the nation’s premier multiuser spaceport,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated in a press launch.

“As NASA has been charged, as soon as once more, with conducting the close to unimaginable, I’m grateful for Janet for all the time embracing the problem of discovering what could possibly be and for pushing the boundaries to ship the missions that allow NASA to cleared the path into a brand new period of house,” Isaacman said.

The KSC leadership change comes as NASA is enjoying a surge of popularity in the wake of the success of Artemis II. The Artemis II astronauts met President Donald Trump at the White House after their record-breaking lunar flyby mission this week. The Artemis II crew launched April 1 from KSC, then splashed down April 10 in the Pacific Ocean inside their Orion spacecraft.

On Florida’s Space Coast, crews offloaded NASA’s huge Space Launch System core stage from the agency’s Pegasus barge on Tuesday, April 28, for Artemis III. That upcoming mission — considered a key step before American astronauts attempt to land on the moon’s rugged surface — remains targeted for liftoff next year.

Petro grew up in Brevard County and graduated from Satellite High.  

“I really grew up right here on the Space Coast. My father was what I name a first-generation house employee. He labored out within the early days of the Gemini, Mercury, after which by the Apollo program and within the early days of the shuttle. So I prefer to say I’m the second technology,” Petro advised FLORIDA TODAY throughout a May 2022 interview.

“He labored on Apollo, and I’m now a part of the Artemis technology. So I believe that’s an extremely cool kind of tie to the middle,” she said.

Petro was inducted into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame in 2018, and she received the National Space Club Florida Committee’s 2022 Dr. Kurt H. Debus Award honoring her contributions to America’s aerospace efforts within Florida.

Manning’s KSC career dates to 1992, including stints as flow director for space shuttle Atlantis, acting chief engineer for shuttle upgrades, vehicle manager for shuttle Columbia, and NASA test director. Later in NASA’s Kennedy Constellation Project Office, Manning became the first division chief for the Orion spacecraft. 

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Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY, where he has covered news since 2004. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

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