NASA names Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch acting deputy chief engineer

17 October 2026

NASA announced on October 13, 2026 that astronaut and engineer Christina Koch will serve as acting deputy chief engineer, taking the role on Sunday, November 1. She succeeds Katherine Van Hooser, who retires on Wednesday, October 21, after more than 35 years at NASA. Koch will help lead NASA's engineering community, with responsibility for technical oversight, mission readiness and engineering excellence across the agency's programs and projects; she moves to management astronaut status and can no longer be assigned to future spaceflights. Koch most recently flew as a mission specialist on Artemis II in April 2026, the first crewed flight around the Moon in over 50 years. She spent 328 consecutive days on the International Space Station, a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, and took part in the first all-female spacewalks. She joined NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center as an electrical engineer developing scientific instruments and was selected as an astronaut in 2013. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Christina has seen NASA engineering from both sides of the equation. Van Hooser joined NASA in 1991 at Marshall Space Flight Center, was chief engineer for the Space Shuttle Main Engine during the final 21 shuttle flights, and became NASA's deputy chief engineer in 2023.