Jeanette Epps

Jeanette Jo Epps, born in 1970, followed one of the most unusual routes to the astronaut corps of any American in space. She earned a master's degree and then a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland, worked in research at Ford Motor Company, and then spent roughly seven years as a technical intelligence officer with the Central Intelligence Agency, work that included overseas deployments and that she still cannot fully discuss publicly. Inspired in part by pioneering astronaut Mae Jemison, she applied to NASA and was selected in 2009 as part of the 20th astronaut class, completing her candidate training in 2011. What followed was an unusually long wait, marked by a series of reassignments that made her patience as much a part of her story as her engineering credentials.

Epps was originally slated for a station increment in 2018 before being pulled from that assignment, then in 2020 was named to Boeing's first operational Starliner crew, a flight that kept slipping as the spacecraft's development lagged. She eventually cross-trained on SpaceX's Crew Dragon, and in August 2023 NASA assigned her as a mission specialist on SpaceX Crew-8. She finally reached orbit on March 4, 2024 aboard Crew Dragon Endeavour, some fifteen years after her selection. The long-duration mission spanned Expeditions 70, 71, and 72 and lasted about 235 days, with 232 days spent aboard the International Space Station, before the crew returned to Earth on October 25, 2024. During the increment she carried out hundreds of hours of microgravity research across the station's disciplines, from human physiology to materials science, on what was her first spaceflight.

That single flight carries broad significance. As an African American woman who had waited far longer than most for her chance, Epps became a widely cited example of persistence, and her work with STEM programs for underrepresented students reflects her stated hope of encouraging young women of color to pursue engineering. Her improbable arc, from Ford engineer to CIA officer to NASA astronaut, has made her a compelling figure in public outreach and a symbol of the many quiet years of readiness that can precede a launch. She remains an active NASA astronaut, eligible for future assignments as the agency looks toward the Moon under Artemis, and her record now includes one completed long-duration mission that finally answered a decade and a half of waiting.