Emily Nelson Installed to Replace Holly Ridings

NASA announced its newest chief flight director, confirming that Emily Nelson would be leading the group overseeing human spaceflight missions from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Norm Knight, NASA director of flight ops, selected Nelson to replace the outgoing Holly Ridings, who served as the director from 2018 to 2022. Ridings has moved on to helm the NASA Gateway Program, an international partnership aiming to establish the first lunar-orbiting space station. Since Ridings' departure, Nelson has stepped up as the acting chief flight director, making the announcement a notice that business shall continue as usual.

Nelson oversees 31 active flight directors and their trainees as they oversee the gamut of NASA spaceflight missions, involving everything from international efforts to sustain the ISS to next-gen crewed flights to the moon and beyond. NASA brass feel comfortable with their selection, speaking highly of Nelson as she continues to tackle her role.

“Being a flight director is about accepting great responsibility and exercising excellent leadership and judgment – responsibility for the mission, for your team, and for the astronauts we fly,” said Knight. “Emily’s tenure leading our flight control teams has proven that she is remarkably knowledgeable on the realities of human spaceflight and eminently composed when facing daunting challenges. She is unequivocally the right person to lead our flight director office as we endeavor to push the boundaries of human spaceflight exploration.”

“We are thrilled to announce Emily as chief flight director as her program and operations experience will continue to ensure the safe and successful completion of every mission as we prepare to transition to a commercialized low Earth orbit where NASA will be a customer of many,” said NASA Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche. “Emily’s dedication to mission excellence makes her the ideal choice to lead the teams that will send our astronauts around the Moon on Artemis II, and as we prepare for operations on the lunar surface via the Artemis campaign that will land the first woman and person of color on the Moon.”

FMI: www.nasa.gov