NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard, at left, and Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana participate in a NASA Advisory Council meeting at the center’s Central Campus Headquarters Building in Florida on Oct. 31, 2019. The NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the agency. Committee members conduct fact-finding sessions throughout the year in an effort to gain a broad understanding of current NASA issues and future mission implementation plans.

NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard, second from left, and Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana, at right, participate in a NASA Advisory Council meeting at the center’s Central Campus Headquarters Building in Florida on Oct. 31, 2019. The NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the agency. Committee members conduct fact-finding sessions throughout the year in an effort to gain a broad understanding of current NASA issues and future mission implementation plans.

Senior managers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center pose inside the Florida spaceport’s Central Campus Headquarters building on Feb. 24, 2020, in recognition of Women’s History Month. Pictured are: Hortense Diggs, Susan Kroskey, Janet Petro, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Vicki Johnston, Maria Collura, Jeanne O’Bryan, Vanessa Stromer, Kim Carter, Laura Rochester, Becky Murray, Jennifer Kunz, Barbara Brown, Kathy Loftin, Jenny Lyons, Dana Hutcherson and Dicksy Chrostowski.

Senior managers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center pose inside the Florida spaceport’s Central Campus Headquarters building on Feb. 24, 2020, in recognition of Women’s History Month. Pictured are: Hortense Diggs, Susan Kroskey, Janet Petro, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Vicki Johnston, Maria Collura, Jeanne O’Bryan, Vanessa Stromer, Kim Carter, Laura Rochester, Becky Murray, Jennifer Kunz, Barbara Brown, Kathy Loftin, Jenny Lyons, Dana Hutcherson and Dicksy Chrostowski.

NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro.

Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana speaks to members of the NASA Advisory Council during a meeting at the center’s Central Campus Headquarters Building in Florida on Oct. 31, 2019. The NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the agency. Committee members conduct fact-finding sessions throughout the year in an effort to gain a broad understanding of current NASA issues and future mission implementation plans.

NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro.

"I’ve worked in many different roles and what drives my passion is learning things that I don’t know. It is a part of my thirst for knowledge and knowing how things work. The harder the problem for me the better. When I first joined NASA as a full time employee, my supervisor would give me an assignment, and I would get it done quickly and come back to his desk and ask, ‘What do you have for me now?’ At one point, after about two months of working for him, he looked at me and kind of sighed. I said, ‘Okay, okay. If you don’t have anything for me right now, is it okay if I see if any of the other supervisors in the building need any help with anything?’ He agreed, and so I approached the other supervisors. "Now, here’s the interesting thing. I was a young Black female in an engineering role that was pretty much dominated by white males at the time, so it was not a norm for there to be females in the building – much less black females. I came to understand later that there was some skepticism on their part that I could do design engineering. I didn’t know that some of them, not all of them, were throwing things at me to show me I wasn’t qualified. But I would tackle their problems the same way I do anything else: if I don’t know it, I’ll go find it. I’ll research. I’ll dig. I’ll look for people that might have some experience that I don’t have and ask them. So, every hard problem that they threw at me, I solved. Eventually, my supervisor told me he didn't know what he was getting into when he agreed to let me go to the other supervisors because now, they were coming to him with their hardest problems, asking, 'Hey, can Barbara help with this?' So, I started to broaden my experience base right away." — Barbara Brown, Director of Exploration Research and Technology Programs, Kennedy Space Center Interviewer: NASA / Tahira Allen

“When I was a kid, I had a Lego set of one of the twin rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. It was like a Lego rover that could fold up the same way that the actual rover did. It’s crazy because I had that when I was like ten — and now, some of my current coworkers actually worked on that launch. So when I walked into my launch director’s office a couple of years ago, I saw that same Lego set sitting next to the people at Jet Propulsion Laboratory who actually built the rover. “Just being able to see it and touch it [as a kid] helps you impart your own imagination onto it. It’s really exciting. I wasn’t an action figure type of kid — but when I had stuff that seemed real, I really enjoyed putting it together. The project of putting it together was the thing that made my parents think that I was going to be a good engineer. Having it in front of you makes it real. So when you see it on TV, it’s like: ‘I know what that is. I know how that instrument works.’ There’s a connection there.” — Phillip Hargrove, Aerospace Engineer, Kennedy Space Center Interviewer: NASA / Thalia Patrinos

NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard addresses members of the NASA Advisory Council during a meeting at the Kennedy Space Center’s Central Campus Headquarters Building in Florida on Oct. 31, 2019. The NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the agency. Committee members conduct fact-finding sessions throughout the year in an effort to gain a broad understanding of current NASA issues and future mission implementation plans.

Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro, second from left, poses with Maverick Constructors LLC employees, from left, Carlos Rodriguez, president, Ralph Kennedy, East Coast division manager, Liz McGrath, Sheri LaShier, and Stephanie Liquori inside Kennedy’s Central Campus Headquarters Building on May 3, 2022. Maverick, the construction company that completed the demolition of Kennedy’s former headquarters, presented Petro with two preserved sections of the building. The presentation of the 15-pound wall tiles is in honor of the many civil servants and contractors who dedicated their lives to working for and supporting NASA in this building.

Wall tiles from Kennedy Space Center’s former headquarters building are presented to Kennedy Director Janet Petro inside the Florida spaceport’s Central Campus Headquarters Building on May 3, 2022. The two 15-pound sections from the building were preserved by Maverick Constructors LLC, the construction company that completed demolition of the structure. The company’s presentation of the tiles is in honor of the many civil servants and contractors who dedicated their lives to working for and supporting NASA in this building. Shown in the photo are Maverick East Coast division manager Ralph Kennedy and Sheri LaShier.

Senior managers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center pose inside the Florida spaceport’s Central Campus Headquarters building on Feb. 24, 2020, in recognition of Women’s History Month. Pictured are: Hortense Diggs, Susan Kroskey, Janet Petro, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Vicki Johnston, Maria Collura, Jeanne O’Bryan, Vanessa Stromer, Kim Carter, Laura Rochester, Becky Murray, Jennifer Kunz, Barbara Brown, Kathy Loftin, Jenny Lyons, Dana Hutcherson and Dicksy Chrostowski.

Wall tiles from Kennedy Space Center’s former headquarters building are presented to Kennedy Director Janet Petro inside the Florida spaceport’s Central Campus Headquarters Building on May 3, 2022. The two 15-pound sections from the building were preserved by Maverick Constructors LLC, the construction company that completed demolition of the structure. The company’s presentation of the tiles is in honor of the many civil servants and contractors who dedicated their lives to working for and supporting NASA in this building.

Wall tiles from Kennedy Space Center’s former headquarters building are presented to Kennedy Director Janet Petro inside the Florida spaceport’s Central Campus Headquarters Building on May 3, 2022. The two 15-pound sections from the building were preserved by Maverick Constructors LLC, the construction company that completed demolition of the structure. The company’s presentation of the tiles is in honor of the many civil servants and contractors who dedicated their lives to working for and supporting NASA in this building.

Members of the NASA Advisory Council pause for a group photograph during a meeting at the Kennedy Space Center Central Campus Headquarters Building in Florida on Oct. 31, 2019. In the center, at right, is NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard. In the center, at left, is Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana. The NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the agency. Committee members conduct fact-finding sessions throughout the year in an effort to gain a broad understanding of current NASA issues and future mission implementation plans.

Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana gives a presentation on space technology to members of the NASA Advisory Council during a meeting at the center’s Central Campus Headquarters Building in Florida on Oct. 31, 2019. The NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the agency. Committee members conduct fact-finding sessions throughout the year in an effort to gain a broad understanding of current NASA issues and future mission implementation plans.

Wall tiles from Kennedy Space Center’s former headquarters building are presented to Kennedy Director Janet Petro inside the Florida spaceport’s Central Campus Headquarters Building on May 3, 2022. The two 15-pound sections from the building were preserved by Maverick Constructors LLC, the construction company that completed demolition of the structure. The company’s presentation of the tiles is in honor of the many civil servants and contractors who dedicated their lives to working for and supporting NASA in this building. Shown in the photo are Maverick East Coast division manager Ralph Kennedy and Sheri LaShier.

Members of the NASA Advisory Council listen to a presentation during a meeting at the Kennedy Space Center Central Campus Headquarters Building in Florida on Oct. 31, 2019. The NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the agency. Committee members conduct fact-finding sessions throughout the year in an effort to gain a broad understanding of current NASA issues and future mission implementation plans.

The refurbished sign from the original Headquarters building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is installed by the main entrance of the new Central Campus Headquarters, Feb. 18, 2021. The sign, which reads “National Aeronautics and Space Administration – Kennedy Space Center Headquarters,” was placed on the center’s first Headquarters building when the facility was completed in 1965. Kennedy’s modern Central Campus Headquarters, a seven-story building with several sustainable features, opened in May 2019 and provides space for 500 NASA and contractor employees.

Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana gives a presentation on Artemis missions to members of the NASA Advisory Council during a meeting at the center’s Central Campus Headquarters Building in Florida on Oct. 31, 2019. The NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the agency. Committee members conduct fact-finding sessions throughout the year in an effort to gain a broad understanding of current NASA issues and future mission implementation plans.

NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard, sixth from right, and Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana, fifth from right, participate in a NASA Advisory Council meeting at the center’s Central Campus Headquarters Building in Florida on Oct. 31, 2019. The NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the agency. Committee members conduct fact-finding sessions throughout the year in an effort to gain a broad understanding of current NASA issues and future mission implementation plans.

NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro.

NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard, standing, addresses members of the NASA Advisory Council during a meeting at the Kennedy Space Center’s Central Campus Headquarters Building in Florida on Oct. 31, 2019. The NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the agency. Committee members conduct fact-finding sessions throughout the year in an effort to gain a broad understanding of current NASA issues and future mission implementation plans.

Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, at right, shakes hands with NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard during a NASA Advisory Council meeting at the center’s Central Campus Headquarters Building in Florida on Oct. 31, 2019. The NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the agency. Committee members conduct fact-finding sessions throughout the year in an effort to gain a broad understanding of current NASA issues and future mission implementation plans.

NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard, at right, speaks with a member of the NASA Advisory Council during a meeting at the Kennedy Space Center’s Central Campus Headquarters Building in Florida on Oct. 31, 2019. The NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the agency. Committee members conduct fact-finding sessions throughout the year in an effort to gain a broad understanding of current NASA issues and future mission implementation plans.

Shown is remnants of the former headquarters building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 11, 2022. Built in 1965, the 439,000-square-foot structure was demolished and replaced at the Florida spaceport by the 200,000-square-foot, seven-story Central Campus Headquarters (CCHQ) Building. The CCHQ is a modernized, energy efficient facility representative of Kennedy’s transformation to America’s premier multi-user spaceport. The area previously occupied by the old headquarters building will be utilized as greenspace.

In the foreground is remnants of the former headquarters building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 11, 2022. Built in 1965, the 439,000-square-foot structure was demolished and replaced at the Florida spaceport by the 200,000-square-foot, seven-story Central Campus Headquarters (CCHQ) Building, shown in the background. The CCHQ is a modernized, energy efficient facility representative of Kennedy’s transformation to America’s premier multi-user spaceport. It opened in May 2019. The area previously occupied by the old headquarters building will be utilized as greenspace.

Shown on Jan. 11, 2022, is the area formerly occupied by the headquarters building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Built in 1965, the 439,000-square-foot-structure was demolished and replaced at the Florida spaceport by the 200,000-square-foot, seven-story Central Campus Headquarters (CCHQ) Building. The CCHQ is a modernized, energy efficient facility representative of Kennedy’s transformation to America’s premier multi-user spaceport. It opened in May 2019. The area previously occupied by the old headquarters building will be utilized as greenspace.

Sandhill cranes pose in front of the Central Campus Headquarters (CCHQ) Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 11, 2022. The CCHQ is a modernized, energy efficient facility representative of Kennedy’s transformation to America’s premier multi-user spaceport. It opened in May 2019. Built in 1965, the former headquarters building was recently demolished. The area previously occupied by the 439,000 square-foot-facility will be utilized as greenspace.

Sandhill cranes dig in the ground in front of the Central Campus Headquarters (CCHQ) Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 11, 2022. The CCHQ is a modernized, energy efficient facility representative of Kennedy’s transformation to America’s premier multi-user spaceport. It opened in May 2019. Built in 1965, the former headquarters building was recently demolished. The area previously occupied by the 439,000 square-foot-facility will be utilized as greenspace.

Shown is a view of the seven-story, 200,000-square-foot Central Campus Headquarters (CCHQ) Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 11, 2022. The CCHQ is a modernized, energy efficient facility representative of Kennedy’s transformation to America’s premier multi-user spaceport. It opened in May 2019. Built in 1965, the former headquarters building was recently demolished. The area previously occupied by the 439,000 square-foot-facility will be utilized as greenspace.

Budding flowers adorn the forefront of the Central Campus Headquarters (CCHQ) Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 11, 2022. The CCHQ is a modernized, energy efficient facility representative of Kennedy’s transformation to America’s premier multi-user spaceport. It opened in May 2019. Built in 1965, the former headquarters building was recently demolished. The area previously occupied by the 439,000 square-foot-facility will be utilized as greenspace.