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2024 Leadership Changes to Include NASA Stennis Director’s Retirement


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NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced Monday that after more than 30 years of service, the agency’s Stennis Space Center Director Richard Gilbrech will retire on Saturday, Jan. 13.

Stennis Deputy Director John Bailey will serve as acting center director after Gilbrech’s departure, and a permanent successor will be identified following a search and competition.

Nelson also announced Chief of Staff Susie Perez Quinn will transition to a senior advisor role at the end of the year, and Bale Dalton will succeed her beginning Monday, Jan. 1.

“Please join me in welcoming new leadership across NASA, who will continue leading our agency to unparalleled success,” said Nelson. “I’m thankful for Rick’s, Susie’s, and Bale’s leadership and wish Rick all the best in his new adventure.”

Gilbrech has served as center director at Stennis for more than a decade and in leadership and engineering roles at NASA since 1991. He has led teams at Stennis in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, and NASA Headquarters in Washington, focusing on propulsion test technology, the space shuttle, and the X-33 in various roles, including as associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate and deputy center director at both Stennis and Langley.

Most recently, Gilbrech has been instrumental in the growth of commercial partnerships at Stennis, leveraging the center’s unique capabilities and expertise as America’s largest rocket propulsion test site.

Quinn has served as chief of staff since 2021, working with Nelson and senior staff to shape the strategic direction of the agency, while overseeing and articulating various policies and programs, with a focus climate change.

In addition to his experience at NASA as deputy chief of staff, Dalton is a captain in the U.S. Navy Reserves. He received his bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School.

“With new transitions and the end of the calendar year approaching, it’s a time to pause and reflect on all that NASA has achieved this year. We’re living through the golden era of space exploration, and it’s because of our world-class workforce that we continue to lead the world in air and space – and I can’t wait to see what’s to come,” added Nelson.

Learn more about NASA’s missions online at:

https://www.nasa.gov

-end-

Jackie McGuinness / Cheryl Warner
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
jackie.mcguiness@nasa.gov / cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov

C. Lacy Thompson
Stennis Space Center, Bay St. Louis, Miss.
228-688-3050
calvin.I.thompson@nasa.gov

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Dec 11, 2023

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      Similar to Artemis I, six active radiation sensors, collectively called the Hybrid Electronic Radiation Assessors, will be deployed at various locations inside the Orion crew module. Crew also will wear dosimeters in their pockets. These sensors will provide warnings of hazardous radiation levels caused by space weather events made by the Sun. If necessary, this data will be used by mission control to drive decisions for the crew to build a shelter to protect from radiation exposure due to space weather. 

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      Spacecraft such as NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have been surveying and mapping the Moon for decades, but Artemis II provides a unique opportunity for humans to evaluate the lunar surface from above. Human eyes and brains are highly sensitive to subtle changes in color, texture, and other surface characteristics. Having the crew observe the lunar surface directly – equipped with questions that scientists didn’t even know to ask during Apollo missions – could form the basis for future scientific investigations into the Moon’s geological history, the lunar environment, or new impact sites.
      This visualization simulates what the crew of Artemis II might see out the Orion windows on the day of their closest approach to the Moon. It compresses 36 hours into a little more than a minute as it flies the virtual camera on a realistic trajectory that swings the spacecraft around the Moon’s far side. This sample trajectory is timed so that the far side is fully illuminated when the astronauts fly by, but other lighting conditions are possible depending on the exact Artemis II launch date. The launch is scheduled for no later than April of 2026. NASA Goddard/Ernie Wright
      It will also offer the first opportunity for an Artemis mission to integrate science flight control operations. From their console in the flight control room in mission control, a science officer will consult with a team of scientists with expertise in impact cratering, volcanism, tectonism, and lunar ice, to provide real-time data analysis and guidance to the Artemis II crew in space. During the mission, the lunar science team will be located in mission control’s Science Evaluation Room at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. 

      Lessons learned during Artemis II will pave the way for lunar science operations on future missions.

      CubeSats

      Several additional experiments are hitching a ride to space onboard Artemis II in the form of CubeSats – shoe-box-sized technology demonstrations and scientific experiments. Though separate from the objectives of the Artemis II mission, they may enhance understanding of the space environment.

      Technicians install the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) K-Rad Cube within the Orion stage adapter inside the Multi-Payload Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. The K-Rad Cube, about the size of a shoebox, is one of the CubeSats slated to fly on NASA’s Artemis II test flight in 2026. Credit: NASA Four international space agencies have signed agreements to send CubeSats into space aboard the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, each with their own objectives. All will be released from an adapter on the SLS upper stage into a high-Earth orbit, where they will conduct an orbital maneuver to reach their desired orbit.

      ATENEA – Argentina’s Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales will collect data on radiation doses across various shielding methods, measure the radiation spectrum around Earth, collect GPS data to help optimize future mission design, and validate a long-range communications link.
      K-Rad Cube – The Korea Aerospace Administration will use a dosimeter made of material designed to mimic human tissue to measure space radiation and assess biological effects at various altitudes across the Van Allen radiation belt.
      Space Weather CubeSat – The Saudi Space Agency will measure aspects of space weather, including radiation, solar X-rays, solar energetic particles, and magnetic fields, at a range of distances from Earth.
      TACHELES – The Germany Space Agency DLR will collect measurements on the effects of the space environment on electrical components to inform technologies for lunar vehicles.
      Together, these research areas will inform plans for future missions within NASA’s Artemis campaign. Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
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