NASA Names Jennifer Lyons Acting Launch Services Program Manager
NASA has selected Jennifer Lyons as acting program manager for the agency’s Launch Services Program (LSP) based at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In this role, Lyons will lead NASA’s acquisition and management of domestic commercial launch services for science and robotic exploration missions beginning Wednesday, April 1.
Lyon will oversee mission planning, launch vehicle selection, spacecraft integration, launch processing, launch campaigns and post-launch activities. The program pairs spacecraft with the most suitable commercial rockets and ensures that mission requirements are met from initial planning through launch and mission completion. It supports NASA missions that observe Earth, explore the solar system and expand understanding of the universe.
“Jenny brings the kind of flight preparation discipline and mission assurance expertise that have defined the program’s 25-year record of more than 100 successful flights on 15 types of commercial rockets,” said Bradley Smith, director of NASA’s Office of Launch Services at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “In addition to being the transportation cornerstone of NASA’s science and robotic exploration missions, commercial launch is also critically important to NASA’s Artemis architecture. Jenny’s experience, having worked on numerous NASA projects – from the Space Shuttle to the International Space Station, to commercial crew, to commercial vendor partnerships – will enable LSP to continue to leverage its core launch vehicle capabilities, ensuring positive outcomes.”
Lyons brings nearly four decades of technical, operational and program leadership experience to the role. She has served as deputy program director for Launch Services since March 2024 and was previously deputy director of the Gateway program’s Deep Space Logistics project. She has worked in launch services for nearly 20 years and led the Fleet and Systems Management Division for more than a decade, overseeing NASA’s analysis and approval activities related to launch vehicle preparation, certification and mission assurance for a diverse fleet of commercial rockets.
“I am honored to take on this important role supporting NASA’s science and exploration missions,” Lyons said. “I am confident that our team will remain focused on providing safe and reliable launch services while strengthening a healthy commercial market that enables discoveries throughout the solar system and beyond.”
Lyons has received numerous individual, group and leadership achievement awards. She holds degrees in aerospace and ocean engineering, space technology and engineering management. Her career includes a wide range of experiences, including serving as the first woman to serve as commander of a NASA space shuttle landing convoy and as chair of the Source Evaluation Committee for NASA Launch Services II, under which NASA awarded several contracts that support many of the agency’s high-priority missions.
She succeeds Albert Sierra, who has led the program since March 2024 and is retiring after 36 years of service to NASA. Sierra guided the program through five core missions and numerous adventure-class launches that ensured a consistent flight cadence for the agency. These missions ranged from large weather and Earth observation satellites to deep space probes, astrophysics and solar monitoring observatories, and numerous CubeSats.
“Leading LSP has been one of the greatest privileges of my career, especially knowing that the missions we have launched will fuel discoveries for years to come,” Sierra said. “While it is never easy to walk away, I am confident that the program will continue its strong record of mission success under Jenny’s leadership.”
