When Kristin Houston was still in high school, a chemistry teacher noticed her fondness for math and science and suggested she might want to study engineering.

That conversation started her down a career path that would fuel her passion for the space industry and place her in a prominent role in the Artemis II mission and NASA’s Moon to Mars program.

Houston, a former Delaware County resident who now lives in Florida, is president of the Space Propulsion and Power Systems Sector at L3Harris Technologies. Her business was previously part of Aerojet Rocketdyne, prior to L3Harris’ acquisition in 2023.  

L3Harris is an aerospace and defense technology company that was contracted by NASA to design the engine systems for Artemis, including for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft. 

Since 2024, Houston’s been overseeing the teams responsible for those engines.

“I always thought it would be amazing to see Earth from space, and now I’m getting to be a part of it,” she said. “It’s humbling, and an exciting time to be part of the space industry.”

She came to L3Harris after a 16-year career with Boeing, spending most of those years working in Ridley Park, where she was Vice President of the V-22 Osprey program and Chief Engineer for Vertical Lift.

Her current job puts her in charge of more than two thousand employees in five locations covering launch propulsion, spacecraft propulsion, and power systems.

Houston brings to the table both engineering and business leadership skills.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and has an Executive MBA with Beta Gamma Sigma Honors from Villanova University.

Artemis II Engines

Her team was responsible for the four main RS-25 engines on the Space Launch System (SLS) of the Artemis II rocket.

Those engines are actually repurposed space shuttle engines, with some upgrades and requalification, she said.

They also made the upper-stage RL10 engine and avionics for the Space Launch System rocket, as well as multiple engines for the Orion spacecraft, including the Orion Main Engine.

“That’s the engine on Orion that did the translunar injection burn. It actually set the crew on the course for the moon.”

Her team designed the propulsion thrusters on the Orion service module and on the crew module so the crew could make course corrections to safely land in the Pacific Ocean.

They also made the pressurized helium tanks used at splashdown to keep the capsule upright in the water.

In total, L3Harris was responsible for 108 different components of Artemis II.

“We have content from tip to tail, from the very bottom to the very top of the rocket, and support the entire mission from launch to splashdown,” she said.

Meeting the crew

Houston had several opportunities to meet with the Artemis II crew both before and after the Moon mission.

The crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen–visited the various L3Harris sites to familiarize themselves with the systems for the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.

“It makes it much more real when you’ve met them in person, and then they are no longer someone you see on TV. I’ve had that opportunity to host them at some of our locations,” she said.

“They’re amazing, amazing people,” she added.

The crew’s safety was a top priority.

“You remember, and you think that these are real people who have families and loved ones who are waiting for them to come home,” Houston said.

Other Space Missions

L3Harris and Aerojet Rocketdyne have a long history in space propulsion.

“Our propulsion systems have sent spacecraft to every planet in the solar system,” Houston said proudly.

That includes Voyager 1, launched in 1977, now one light day away from Earth, the furthest object in interstellar space ever sent.

It also includes NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, which came closer to the sun than any other human-made object, 3.8 million miles away, in December 2024. Today, it orbits within the sun’s corona.

Beyond Artemis II

Plans call for Artemis III to be launched in June 2027.  It will take Orion to low Earth orbit, where it will do a test docking with a Human Landing System that will eventually take astronauts to and from the surface of the Moon.

The schedule next calls for Artemis IV and V to actually land on the moon in 2028.

After that, a NASA initiative known as Ignition will foster commercial launches to the moon once a year, while developing a permanent Moon base in preparation for a mission to Mars.

There is some urgency, Houston said, since China plans to have its own crews on the Moon by 2030.

Whoever gets there first could influence how the Moon’s resources are accessed. There’s water ice on the lunar south pole, which can create water and breathable air, potential propellants, and helium-3 for fusion reactors.

Texas Congressman Brian Babin, a supporter of the Artemis program, puts the urgency in perspective.

“He says I would hate for us to get to the Moon and the South Pole of the Moon only to find a ‘no trespassing’ sign in Mandarin.”

The Artemis Accords were created in 2020 to establish a framework for how nations can cooperate in the civil exploration and peaceful use of the Moon, Mars, and other astronomical objects. 

Sixty-one nations, including the United States, have signed on. China and Russia have not.

The Moon is the perfect place to test human adaptability to harsh environments and microgravity before venturing out for a much longer trip to Mars, Houston said.

She also supports work by L3Harris currently underway to build a new nuclear electrical propulsion system known as SR-1 Freedom that could get us to Mars faster.

“This Artemis II mission ended, but it’s really just the beginning of what’s to come,” Houston said.  

“The space industry has been reinvigorated because of all the advancements in everything related to space. There are more launches these days, a lot of startups, and just a lot more happening in space, and that’s got people excited.”

Delco Connections

Kristin Houston and her husband, Jonathan Francis, lived in Wallingford and Media while she was working for Boeing.

Her work with L3Harris has since required Houston to move to Florida, but her fondness for Delaware County has her coming back often to the area.

Parishioners at Nativity BVM in Media recognize her as a frequent cantor there.