Beth Moses

Career

Natalie Beth Stubbings grew up in Northbrook, Illinois, and attended Glenbrook North High School. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1992 and 1994, respectively. As a student, she conducted materials research in parabolic flight. She worked as a senior engineer in the NASA/JSC EVA Project Office and later became assembly manager for the International Space Station, leading the global program of human-in-the-loop testing that designed, developed, and verified spacewalk mechanisms for station assembly and maintenance.

Moses joined Virgin Galactic as chief astronaut instructor and interiors program manager. During her 22 February 2019 spaceflight, she became the first person on a suborbital mission known to have unstrapped and floated around the cabin to evaluate the future passenger experience, reaching 89.9 km altitude.

Quotes

Moses has stated that if a greater slice of humanity can experience spaceflight, it will translate to untold benefits and changes on Earth, suggesting that if every world leader saw Earth from space, the planet might become more gentle and kind. She has also said that engineering persistence trumps personal, cultural, or gender factors, and that in modern global human aerospace, what matters is engineering skill, common sense, courtesy, persistence, and dedication to the shared mission.

Did You Know?

• She reached a peak altitude of 89.9 km on the VF-01 mission.
• The Federal Aviation Administration awarded her Commercial Astronaut Wings for her February 22, 2019 spaceflight.