Meet Janet Petro, NASA's Acting Administrator Makes History For Women

Janet Petro has been appointed as the acting administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Although for an interim period, she is making history as the first woman to lead a major NASA office. The space agency said in a statement on January 25, "In this role, Petro is responsible for directing the agency, including budget and programmes, until a new administrator is confirmed by the US Senate." Michigan-born Petro boasts a distinguished career in engineering and civil services.

Who Is Janet Petro?

Petro grew up in Florida, where her father also worked at NASA on the Kennedy Space Center's Mercury and Gemini Programs. She graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1981. She was in the second-ever batch to include women at West Point. She also has a bachelor's degree in engineering and a master's in business administration.

In the US Army, Petro was assigned to Aviation Branch, where she piloted helicopters and led troop assignments in Germany. She then worked work for Science Applications International Corporation and then McDonnell Douglas Aerospace Corporation, where she worked as a mechanical engineer and payload specialist before starting at NASA.

Petro served as the first female deputy director of NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida, leading in the transition of the centre into a multi-user spaceport. She also served an appointment at NASA's headquarters in Washington, D.C. as the deputy associate administrator and acting director for the Office of Evaluation for a year.

Petro became the 11th director at John F. Kennedy Space Center. 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," NASA said in a recent statement.

Janet Petro has earned many laurels like the Presidential Rank Award, the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Sammies Management Excellence Medal, and the Silver Snoopy Award. In 2018, she was selected by the Florida Governor to be inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame.