NASA has selected four new flight directors to oversee operations of the International Space Station. The newest inductees in the class of 2021 includes an Aggie engineer, Diane Dailey, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University in 2005.
Dailey, along with the other new inductees, will work in the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. These individuals lead teams of flight controllers, engineers and many others agency wide and internationally. They go through a rigorous training program to further develop technical knowledge and leadership skills before being ready to oversee human spaceflight missions.
Dailey has worked at NASA since 2006, where she began her career in the space station Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) group and logged more than 1,700 hours of console time, supported 10 space shuttle missions and led the ECLSS team for Expedition 22. She was the lead flight controller for the 10th and 21st Commercial Resupply Services missions for SpaceX.
Dailey was the Integration and System Engineering lead for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-1 and Demo-2 crew spacecraft test flights, contributing to the successful return of American spaceflight capability from the United States to the space station. She is also a capsule communicator controller and instructor. Most recently, she served as the group lead for the electrical and mechanical systems team.
“These outstanding individuals bring with them an array of different skillsets, leadership styles and meaningful hands-on experience that will lead NASA and human spaceflight far into the future. I have the utmost confidence they will excel in their new roles,” said Holly Ridings, NASA chief flight director.
With the addition of this new class, the role of flight director has been held by only 101 individuals across NASA’s history. The new class will follow in the footsteps of Apollo-era flight directors, such as Gene Kranz and the namesake of the Mission Control Center, Christopher C. Kraft.