Robyn Gatens

Robyn Gatens is the director of the International Space Station and acting director of the Commercial Spaceflight Division within the Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. 

Gatens leads strategy, policy, integration, and stakeholder engagement for the space station, commercial low Earth orbit, and commercial crew programs at the agency level, including use of the station and future low Earth orbit platforms for research and technology demonstrations to support NASA’s Artemis missions, and activities to secure an ongoing U.S. presence in low Earth orbit by enabling a successful, long-term private sector commercial low Earth orbit space economy. She also serves as NASA’s liaison to the International Space Station National Laboratory and co-chairs the Low Earth Orbit Science and Technology Interagency Working Group.

In her 39 years at NASA, Gatens has led the development and management of life support and habitation systems for human spaceflight missions. She has also led agency strategic and budget planning to mature these habitation system technologies needed for future deep space exploration missions, using the International Space Station as a demonstration testbed.

Gatens began her NASA career in 1985 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. She held various leadership positions at Marshall, including manager for the Orion spacecraft crew support and thermal systems before transferring to NASA Headquarters in Washington in 2012.

Gatens is the recipient of NASA’s Outstanding Leadership and Exceptional Achievement Medals and holds a bachelor of science degree in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.