Jeanette J. Epps
Jeanette Jo Epps is an American aerospace engineer, former CIA technical intelligence officer, and NASA astronaut. Selected in NASA Astronaut Group 20 in 2009, she came to NASA with engineering research, federal technical work, and operational training experience.
- Born
- November 3, 1970
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- Syracuse, New York,United States
Flights
1
Spacewalks
0
EVA time
N/A
In space
235 days, 3 hours, 35 minutes
Bio
Epps studied physics and aerospace engineering, earning graduate degrees from the University of Maryland. Before NASA, she worked at Ford Motor Company and then as a CIA technical intelligence officer, giving her a background that combined engineering and high-consequence operations.
Her first spaceflight was SpaceX Crew-8, which launched to the International in 2024. Epps served as a and then as an ISS during 70, 71, and 72.
The mission made her part of the commercial-crew station era, where astronauts launch on Crew Dragon and integrate into long-duration international expeditions rather than short standalone shuttle flights.
Epps' profile is significant for engineering depth, persistence through changing assignments, and her role as one of the first Black women to serve a long-duration mission aboard the ISS.