Kelvin Manning has been selected as deputy director of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In that role, Manning will share responsibility with Kennedy Director Janet Petro in managing the Kennedy team of civil service and contractor employees, determining and implementing center policy, and managing and executing Kennedy missions and agency program responsibilities.
Manning previously served as the center’s technical associate director. In that capacity, he was responsible for ensuring safe and effective execution of the center’s technical capabilities, including establishing strategies and policies to ensure alignment of the Kennedy workforce, facilities, and operations to facilitate agency program and project goals. In doing so, he helped propel the world’s premiere multi-user spaceport to advance America’s leadership in space.
Manning began his career at Kennedy in 1992 and has served in a number of positions within the former Shuttle Processing Directorate, including flow director for space shuttle Atlantis, acting chief engineer for shuttle upgrades, vehicle manager for space shuttle Columbia, and NASA test director. Later in the Kennedy Constellation Project Office, Manning became the first division chief for NASA’s Orion spacecraft. More recently, he served on the last two NASA Astronaut Candidate Selection Boards.
Born in Fort Meade, Maryland, as an “Army brat,” Manning traveled throughout the United States and has resided in Texas, New Jersey, Indiana, Hawaii, Illinois, and Maryland. After graduating from Aberdeen High School in Aberdeen, Maryland, Manning went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In addition, Manning has a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Central Florida in Orlando and has completed the Senior Executive Fellows Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
As an Air Force officer, Manning served six years as a space operations analyst, stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida and NORAD Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs. Following his military service and prior to joining NASA, Manning was an engineer with General Electric Aerospace, Military and Data Systems Operations, in Springfield, Virginia, and McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Company in Washington.
Petro, who was named Kennedy’s director in June 2021, previously held the center’s deputy director position. Petro assumed the role of center director after former Kennedy director Bob Cabana was named NASA’s associate administrator in May.
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