The President and Chief Operating Officer at SpaceX Gwynne Shotwell is one of the best stories of success for women working in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. She is an engineer with over twenty years of experience with day-to-day management of SpaceX since the early days in 2002, and has a vital role in the aerospace company's growth.
Shotwell will now move from SpaceX's headquarters in California to the Starbase facility in South Texas, where she will oversee Starship development operations, according to a 'The Information' reporter who received first-hand information. The news comes after SpaceX founder Elon Musk officially acquired Twitter and is now leading the social media platform and meeting up with employees to work together towards his vision.
Starship has been under development since 2019 at Boca Chica Beach, Texas. Musk has been leading Starship development operations since the start, alongside Senior director of Starship operations Shyamal (Sam) Patel. However, now leadership roles have shifted across the company; Patel is now leaving Starbase to work at SpaceX's Cape Canaveral facility in Florida from where most Falcon 9 missions lift off. This shift in roles is intended to speed-up Starship's development under Shotwell's direct leadership.
The company has been working all year to perform the first-ever orbital Starship flight that will provide engineering teams with insight on how to improve the spacecraft. There is still no specific date set for the debut orbital flight, which will originate from Boca Chica Beach and end with an ocean landing along the northwest coast of Kauai, Hawaii. SpaceX is actively performing pre-flight tests of both Starship SN24 and Super Heavy Booster 7 prototypes. SpaceX is still pending regulatory approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to launch Starship to orbit. Today, November 11, the company shared a photograph of Starbase employees who have served in the U.S. military in commemoration of Veterans Day. "Happy Veterans Day to all those who have served!" the company said, pictured below. Read More: SpaceX Shares An Inspiring Video Of Employee 'Life at Starbase'
Happy Veterans Day to all those who have served! pic.twitter.com/81iK9DBhKj
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 11, 2022
Life at Starbase https://t.co/tYfYRLRQjU pic.twitter.com/gmYHM4y3GR
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 4, 2022
Featured Image Source: SpaceX
About the Author
Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
