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⇱ Space Operations Mission Directorate - NASA


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👁 Anchored to a foot restraint on the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) or Canadarm2, astronaut David A. Wolf, STS-112 mission specialist, participates in the mission's first session of extravehicular activity (EVA). Wolf is carrying the Starboard One (S1) outboard nadir external camera which was installed on the end of the S1 Truss on the International Space Station (ISS). Launched October 7, 2002 aboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis, the STS-112 mission lasted 11 days and performed three EVAs. Its primary mission was to install the S1 Integrated Truss Structure and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart to the ISS. The S1 truss provides structural support for the orbiting research facility's radiator panels, which use ammonia to cool the Station's complex power system. The S1 truss, attached to the S0 (S Zero) truss installed by the previous STS-110 mission, flows 637 pounds of anhydrous ammonia through three heat rejection radiators. The truss is 45-feet long, 15-feet wide, 10-feet tall, and weighs approximately 32,000 pounds. The CETA is the first of two human-powered carts that will ride along the International Space Station's railway providing a mobile work platform for future extravehicular activities by astronauts.

Space Operations Mission Directorate

NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate ensures continued American leadership in low Earth orbit, encourages economic growth of the commercial space sector, enables continued and successful access to space, and provides a foundation for future human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

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Latest Space Station News

3 Min Read

Brain and Eye Studies, Advanced Life Support Tech Top Station Crew’s Day

Blog
4 Min Read

Station Crew Works Robotics, Research as Artemis II Launch Preps Continue

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3 Min Read

Medical Tests, Microbiology Top Research Schedule Aboard Station

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Our Vision

The Space Operations Mission Directorate is opening space to more people, science, and commercial opportunities, and ensuring humanity’s long-term presence in space.

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👁 Earth observation taken by the Expedition 42 crew aboard the ISS.

Areas of Focus

The programs within the directorate are the hub of NASA’s space exploration efforts, enabling Artemis, commercial space, science, and other agency missions through communication, launch services, research capabilities, and crew support. 

Commercial Low Earth Orbit Program

NASA continues to enable the growth of commercial space age through public-private partnerships. Building on the success of cargo and crew, NASA is working with industry on commercially owned and operated space stations.

Human Research Program

NASA’s Human Research Program harnesses the International Space Station to carry out science experiments that show how the human body changes in space. Results of the investigations will help carry astronauts on future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

International Space Station

For nearly 25 years, humans have lived and worked on humanity's home in low Earth orbit. The International Space Station Program brings together international flight crews, multiple rockets and spacecraft, global facilities, communications networks, and the international research community.

Launch Services Program

NASA’s Launch Services Program is responsible for launching uncrewed rockets delivering spacecraft that observe the Earth, visit other planets and explore the universe – from weather satellites to telescopes to Mars rovers and more.

👁 These images show how teams rolled out, or moved, the completed core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Crews moved the flight hardware for the first Artemis mission to NASA’s Pegasus barge on Jan. 8 in preparation for the core stage Green Run test series at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Pegasus, which was modified to ferry SLS rocket hardware, will transport the core stage from Michoud to Stennis for the comprehensive core stage Green Run test series. Once at Stennis, the Artemis rocket stage will be loaded into the B-2 Test Stand for the core stage Green Run test series. The comprehensive test campaign will progressively bring the entire core stage, including its avionics and engines, to life for the first time to verify the stage is fit for flight ahead of the launch of Artemis I.

Rocket Propulsion Test Program

NASA’s Rocket Propulsion Test Program Office provides the program management structure necessary to optimize use of NASA’s chemical rocket propulsion test assets while ensuring an agency core capability for all aspects of chemical rocket propulsion testing is maintained.

Space Communications and Navigation Program

NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program serves as the program office for all of NASA’s space communications operations. Over 100 missions rely on SCaN’s two networks, the Near Space Network and the Deep Space Network.

Humans in Space

Every day since Nov. 2, 2000, people have been orbiting our planet inside the International Space Station, bringing together science, technology and human innovation to enable new technologies and research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. NASA is working with its commercial and international partners to maintain humanity’s presence in space and extended that work beyond low Earth orbit to the Moon in preparation for Mars exploration as part of Artemis.  

Learn More about Humans in Space
👁 NASA astronaut Drew Feustel is pictured tethered to the International Space Station just outside of the Quest airlock during a spacewalk he conducted with fellow NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold (out of frame) on June 14, 2018.
NASA astronaut Drew Feustel is pictured tethered to the International Space Station just outside of the Quest airlock during a spacewalk he conducted with fellow NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold (out of frame) on June 14, 2018.
NASA

Space Operations Leadership

Space Operations Mission Directorate Leadership Team

Joel R. Montalbano

Associate Administrator for Space Operations (acting)

Alesyn Lowry

Deputy Associate Administrator of Management for Space Operations

Kevin Coggins

Deputy Associate Administrator and Program Manager, Space Communications and Navigation

Jacob L. Keaton

Director of International Space Station for Space Operations (acting)

Stephen Bowen

Director of Cross-Directorate Technical Integration for Space Operations (acting)

Diana K. Oglesby

Director of the Strategic Integration and Management Division for Space Operations

Featured Story

15 Ways the International Space Station Benefits Humanity Back on Earth

The first decade of the International Space Station was the decade of construction. The second decade moved from initial studies…

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Space Flight Awareness

The mission of Space Flight Awareness is to ensure that each and every employee involved in human space flight is aware of the importance of their role in promoting astronaut safety and mission success.

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👁 NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts participate in a training session at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left to right: NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 mission specialist Jessica Watkins; NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 pilot Robert “Bob” Hines; NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 commander Kjell Lindgren; and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Crew-4 mission specialist Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts participate in a training session at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left to right: NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 mission specialist Jessica Watkins; NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 pilot Robert “Bob” Hines; NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 commander Kjell Lindgren; and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Crew-4 mission specialist Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy.

Commercial Space Stations

NASA is committed to ensuring the seamless transition from the International Space Station to new commercial space stations in low Earth orbit as soon as possible and is using funded Space Act Agreements to move this effort quickly through design and demonstration and provide industry the flexibility needed to support this commercial effort. Future commercial space stations will ensure mission continuity, affordability, and national alignment, as well as to reduce the potential for a gap of a crew capable platform in low Earth orbit. 

Learn More about Commercial Space Stations
👁 City lights dot the Canadian landscape underneath an atmospheric glow and an aurora borealis in this photograph taken from the International Space Station 262 miles above North America at approximately 12:15 a.m. local time.

NASA Space Operations Centers

Explore the NASA Space Operations centers.

Meet the Space Operations Team

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Station Nation: Erin Edwards, Deputy Branch Chief for Crew Operations and Capsule Communicator 
8 min read

As a member of the Crew Operations Office, Erin Edwards and her team manage astronaut candidate training schedules, including field medical exercises, land…

February 4, 2026
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Mark Elder: Building the Future of Spacewalking for Artemis and Beyond 
5 min read

For more than 25 years, Mark Elder has helped make human spaceflight safe and possible. As the International Space Station…

December 1, 2025
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Station Nation: Meet Alyssa Yockey, Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory Flight Lead 
9 min read

Alyssa Yockey supports the International Space Station from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston as a flight lead at the…

November 19, 2025
Article
Featured Story

Experiments to Unlock How Human Bodies React to Long Space Journeys

Through Artemis, NASA astronauts are returning to the Moon in preparation for one day going to Mars. To better prepare astronauts…

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Explore More

Stay up-to-date with the latest content from the Space Operations Mission Directorate.

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NASA Sets Coverage for Northrop Grumman’s CRS-24 Resupply Launch
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NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 8:49 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 8, for the next…

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NASA Unveils Initiatives to Achieve America’s National Space Policy
10 min read

As part of its “Ignition” event on Tuesday, NASA announced a series of transformative agencywide initiatives designed to achieve President…

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NASA to Cover Progress 94 Spacecraft Launch, Space Station Docking
2 min read

NASA will provide live coverage of the launch and docking of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft carrying about three tons of…

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NASA to Cover Upcoming US Spacewalks 94, 95 Outside Space Station
3 min read

NASA astronauts will conduct a pair of spacewalks beginning Wednesday, March 18, outside of the International Space Station to prepare…

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NASA Astronauts to Answer Questions from Students in New York
2 min read

Students in New York will hear from NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams as they answer prerecorded science, technology,…

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NASA Invites Media to Northrop Grumman CRS-24 Station Resupply Launch
3 min read

Media accreditation is open for the next launch to deliver NASA science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space…