Howard hu

Manager, Orion Program

Education:

B.S. Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, University of Washington 

M.S. Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, University of Washington 

Howard Hu currently serves as the NASA Orion Program manager at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. He leads the design, development, production, and operations of Orion, NASA’s next-generation human exploration spacecraft for the Artemis missions to the Moon.  

Hu has held several key leadership positions within the Orion Program, previously serving as the deputy program manager. Hu was also the manager of the Avionics, Power, and Software Office, as well as the deputy manager of the Vehicle Integration Office. Hu has been involved with the program since its inception and started as Orion’s Vehicle System Performance and Analysis lead. 

Prior to joining the Orion program, Hu held a number of technical and leadership positions at Johnson, serving as the chief engineer for exploration in the Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics Division, project manager and co-developer of the Shuttle Abort Flight Management software for the Space Shuttle Cockpit Avionics Upgrades program, and deputy guidance, navigation, and control system manager for the International Space Station.  

Throughout his career spanning more than 30 years with NASA, Hu has been recognized for his achievements, including the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, Johnson Director’s Innovation Awards, Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 Outstanding Leadership Award, Artemis II Mission Trophy, University of Washington Aeronautics & Astronautics Distinguished Alumnus Award, and National Space Club Norman L. Baker Astronautics Engineer Award.