Selecting the Astronauts of Tomorrow With NASA Astronaut Selection Manager April Jordan
In this episode of Redefining Work, I sit down with NASA astronaut selection manager April Jordan. We discuss how her career has evolved over 15 years at the agency, what the upcoming Artemis II mission means to her and NASA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
For the past year-plus, she’s been deputy HR director for NASA's West Coast operations and astronaut selection manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
“I’m just really honored that I get to be a part of this particular part of NASA's mission,” she says.
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Key Moments
00:10:26 Staying connected to the mission
00:15:05 Viewing talent as a shared resource
00:23:06 NASA astronaut selection process
00:30:47 Artemis II mission
00:32:03 Diversity, inclusion, and representation at NASA
00:37:20 Exploring career opportunities at NASA
Navigating an Internal Career
April’s career at NASA has included stints as an HR business partner and consultant, manager of consulting services and deputy HR director. It’s not uncommon for NASA employees to have multiple roles during their career, as the agency prioritizes opportunities for employees to upskill and grow.
“There are always projects that are being shared across our [agency] centers,” April shares. “We have an internal talent marketplace and that really helps people understand, ‘What are all the opportunities that are available to me?’”
Another way NASA helps employees learn more about the agency's scope is through temporary assignments across departments and projects. For April, one of these temp assignments, called details, meant three months with NASA’s commercial crew program, which works with companies such as SpaceX.
“I've always found that there's a culture here that is supportive in helping people figure out what the next thing is for them,” April says. Supervisors support employee growth even when that means they have to backfill a position.
The Astronaut Selection Process
April oversees the selection process for new astronauts at NASA, which feeds the pool that NASA chooses from for manned space missions. She doesn’t have to make these decisions alone, as she has help from current astronauts and a NASA team of behavioral health experts.
NASA usually selects new astronauts every four years or so, and the selection process itself takes about two years to complete. All potential candidates must have a STEM degree and a master’s degree, as well as some work experience. Arduous physical requirements are also included, especially with NASA planning to conduct long-duration missions.
NASA receives thousands of applications during each selection year. In their last selection process in 2021, the agency received over 12,000 applications, but only 10 were selected for that class.
From that initial pool, top candidates are selected for the interview stage with the astronaut selection board in Houston. During this step, ›the board analyzes all aspects of the candidate. The board isn’t just considering the candidates as individuals, April explains, but is looking at how they might work with others.
“It's not just a list of 10 people with three alternates that, if one doesn't work out, you just plop that one in,” April says. “It's really looking at how this team works together and making sure you've got all the components that you need from a team and all kinds of diversity before making a recommendation for what that team should look like.”
How NASA Is Emphasizing Diversity
NASA’s Artemis II mission is set for 2024 and will be the first crewed flight for the agency’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. This will be the first moon flight to feature a first Black astronaut (Victor Glover) or a woman astronaut (Christina Hammock Koch).
“I felt really proud at that moment,” April says. “If anyone's paid attention to what the NASA workforce has looked like over the last 60 years, there's been a dramatic change with the level of diversity that we have. I felt proud to see Victor Glover on that stage and I felt proud to see Christina Koch on the stage.”
NASA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is rooted deep into its operations, as April sees firsthand in the selection process.
“As the astronaut selection manager, our goal is always to select a crew that is representative of our nation. The astronauts are the face of NASA, so when they are out and promoting whatever is going on at NASA, we want folks to be able to relate to them in all kinds of ways,” April says.
People in This Episode
April Jordan: LinkedIn
