Laura Stiles

Laura Ann Stiles (born April 14, 1986) is an American aerospace engineer. She was the director of New Shepard flight operations and astronaut training at Blue Origin until 2026.

Biography Stiles was born in Prairie Village, Kansas in 1986 to Brenda and Mark Stiles. She studied engineering physics at the University of Kansas, doing research under Michael Murray and Alice Bean. Stiles graduated in 2008.

She attended the University of Colorado, Boulder and studied aerospace engineering, astrodynamics, and satellite navigation. As a graduate student, she worked on CubeSat deployable reflectors at the Air Force Research Laboratory in 2009. Under Hanspeter Schaub, she researched electrostatic inflation of space stations, graduating with a master's in 2011 and doctorate in 2013 .

In 2013, Stiles joined American private aerospace company Blue Origin. Initially an engineer on the New Shepard capsule parachute system, she became the lead for New Shepard launch operations in 2018. She served as a flight controller for more than twelve sub-orbital launches. In April of 2022, Stiles became crew member 7 for New Shepard. She became the twenty-first person from the University of Colorado to fly to space beyond the Kármán line.

Personal life Stiles has been a skydiving instructor since 2011. She competed nationally and holds 2 World Records in large-formation flying. She holds a patent for the design of a deployable shell with wrapped gores.