Emily J. Nelson

Emily J. Nelson is an American aerospace engineer and NASA flight director. In 2023, NASA named Nelson chief flight director, leading the group responsible for directing human spaceflight missions from the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. She was selected as a NASA flight director in 2007, becoming the 70th flight director in NASA history and the 10th woman selected for the role.

Early life and education

Nelson was born in Okinawa, Japan, and raised in Austin, Texas. In that role, she supported early space station assembly missions and ISS expeditions as part of the ThOR flight-control team. While serving under Holly Ridings, the two formed NASA's first all-female Chief Flight Director team.

NASA named Nelson chief flight director on May 2, 2023, succeeding Ridings, who had held the position from 2018 to 2022 and moved to NASA's Gateway Program.

Honors and awards

Nelson has received the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, Exceptional Service Medal, and Exceptional Achievement Medal. In 2019, the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin recognized her as a Distinguished Mechanical Engineer.