'Launching humanity's future': Meet NASA's new director

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - After more than 30 years, there’s a change in leadership at NASA.

Kathy Lueders, who led NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate and oversaw the International Space Station, retired in April 2023 after more than three decades with the space agency.

"I’ve had such a blessed career that it seems like it’s gone by so fast," she said.

She was the first woman to lead NASA's space operations and was a champion of public-private partnerships. which are well known today – and constantly expanding.

"There wasn’t a lot of women’s bathroom at the time, you know, and so you just think about minor things like that that can help people feel more comfortable in the work environment," she said.

She's grateful to work for a company that's pushing forward for future innovations, she said. 

"One of the things I am most proud of is the fact that here we are at Kennedy Space Center, and as I drove in, I saw launching humanity’s future. It wasn’t launching NASA’s future. It’s about all the different people that are here in this place that are all moving us forward with space innovation," said Lueders.

That innovation will now continue under new leadership – Ken Bowersox, who served as the deputy associate administrator for NASA operations, has 19 years with the agency, and flew five times on NASA's Space Shuttle. 

He told FOX 35 that people can expect to see even more launches at Kennedy Space Center as NASA looks for new ways to advance its mission.

"I think they’ll see more of that as the next few years go on. More and more of those types of launches to space station, launching satellites, launching science missions and then of course the Artemis missions that are coming where we’ll launch people out to the moon," Bowersox said.

He also has his focus on the ISS – and what's next.

"We have to think about what we do after ISS," he said. "It’s been up there with people over 20 years now. Eventually, we’re going to have something that replaces it."

It's bittersweet for Lueders. She said sher 

"It’s been really sad over the last few months saying goodbye," she said. Though, she said Bowersox is ready and able to lead NASA on its next mission.

Lueders reportedly will join SpaceX to help with its Starship mission, according to various media reports. SpaceX has not made any announcements or confirmed those reports.

FOX 35 reached out to SpaceX late Monday.

"I can’t wait to see us go around the moon again and put people on the surface of the moon, and I sure hope I get to see us send people to mars for the first time," Bowersox said.