Janet Petro retires as director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the agency announced Friday. Petro led the facility that launches America's human spaceflight missions and manages ground operations for the Space Launch System and Artemis program.
Petro joined NASA in 2007 after working in military and industry roles. She advanced through the ranks to become center director, overseeing Kennedy's transformation into a multi-mission spaceport. She also served as acting NASA administrator, the agency's top post.
Kennedy Space Center remains the launch site for crewed missions to low Earth orbit and deep space exploration. Petro's tenure included oversight of SpaceX Crew Dragon operations, NASA's commercial crew program, and preparations for Artemis lunar missions.
The agency has not announced Petro's replacement.