INDIANA – Purdue University alumnus and decorated spaceflight veteran Scott Tingle has been appointed to the highest role among all active astronauts, being named the Chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA and Purdue announced the appointment on Friday, following the official designation on November 10.
As Chief Astronaut, Tingle is now tasked with managing astronaut resources and operations. His responsibilities also include developing flight crew operations and making the critical crew assignments for all future human spaceflight missions, including the upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon.
“Our Johnson Space Center team congratulates Scott on his selection as chief of the Astronaut Office. We wish him well as he takes on this new and exciting leadership role,” said Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche in a release.
A former captain in the United States Navy, Tingle was inducted as Purdue’s 23rd member of the Cradle of Astronauts in 2017. He holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.
Tingle boasts a distinguished background, having logged more than 4,500 flight hours across 51 different aircraft. He was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2009 and has served as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
