Historical and exciting things are happening at NASA! The Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft arrived at Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 17. Engineers then began preparations for an upcoming wet dress rehearsal targeted for no later than February 2. Artemis II launch window opens as early as Friday, February 6. The mission management team will assess flight readiness after the wet dress rehearsal across the spacecraft, launch infrastructure, and the crew and operations teams before selecting a launch date.
Go to Artemis II Updates for additional information and the latest updates.
Langley Research Center, for the upcoming Artemis II mission and beyond, is actively shaping mission architecture, characterizing launch vehicle and spacecraft atmospheric, ascent and reentry aerodynamics, building safety systems for astronauts, crafting electronics for instrumentation, programming robotics for in-space assembly, and developing business approaches for space commerce. NASA Langley’s Contributions to Artemis – NASA
The Artemis II test flight will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on an approximately 10-day journey around the Moon and back. It is another step toward new U.S.-crewed missions to the Moon’s surface, leading to a sustained presence on the Moon that will help the agency prepare to send the first astronauts – Americans – to Mars. Let’s Go!
Please join us on March 10, 2026, for our monthly LAA General Membership and Board Meetings. We are honored to welcome Dr. Trina Dyal, Acting Center Director of NASA Langley Research Center, who will provide an update on the state of NASA Langley. As March is Women’s History Month, we are especially grateful to have Dr. Dyal with us to share her insights and leadership. We look forward to an inspiring and informative briefing!
Dr. Trina Marsh Dyal currently serves as the acting center director of NASA Langley Research Center. In this role, Dr. Dyal is responsible of overseeing approximately 3,400 civil service and contractor personnel, facilities valued at more than $5 billion, and an annual budget of approximately $1 billion. She also leads a diverse team of world-class scientists, researchers, engineers, and mission support specialists to accomplish projects across all of NASA’s mission directorates.
Previously, Dr. Dyal was the director for NASA Langley’s Science Directorate. In that role, Dyal was responsible for executive leadership in conducting and improving world-class core capabilities in atmospheric science research and space flight instrument development for the Science Mission Directorate. Prior to joining the Science Directorate, Dr. Dyal was the director of NASA Langley’s Flight Project Directorate, where she managed the technical, programmatic, and administrative functions necessary to execute advanced flight projects.
In addition to her roles at NASA Langley, Dr. Dyal served in two detail assignments. The first assignment was the executive to NASA’s Agency Program Management Council (APMC). In that role, Dr. Dyal was responsible for managing the activities of the APMC to baseline and assess performance of NASA projects, programs, mission directorate portfolios, and the integrated agency portfolio to ensure successful outcomes supporting achievement of NASA strategic goals. She also managed the activities of the Baseline Performance Review to provide an integrated review of institutional, program, and project activities and was also the executive responsible for managing the Agency Acquisition Strategy. Dr. Dyal’s second detail was director, Strategic Planning and Integration, supporting the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), where she was responsible for daily strategic management and supervision. Dr. Dyal provided advice on strategic technology investments and functional direction for strategic integration planning across all nine STMD technology programs.
Dr. Dyal received a doctoral degree in systems engineering from Old Dominion University. She also earned a master’s degree in engineering management and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.
Come join us on February 10, 2026, for our monthly LAA General Membership and Board Meetings. We are currently working to line up a non-government speaker just in case there is another government shutdown (we certainly hope the latter does not happen). Stay tuned for more information to come out soon!
Video and slides from these presentations have now been posted on our Events page. Photos from the presentation are in the Gallery.
Happy New Year! Hope everyone enjoyed time with family and friends during the holiday season. As we start this new year, please join us on January 13th for the 2026 Annual General Membership and Board Meetings where the Class of 2029 Members-at-Large will be elected during the General Membership Meeting. We also have an LAA member, Amy Radford, who will speak about her experiences while visiting Ireland. Immediately following this meeting, the Board of Directors will meet and elect the next Vice President and Secretary; approve updates to the Bylaws and Policies and Procedures; and assignment of Committee Chairs by the President will also be made. All LAA members are welcome to stay and attend the Board Meeting if they choose. Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Amy Radford began her 41-year career at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) as an Administrative Cooperative Education student in 1982. She started in the Training Office in the Human Resources Division from 1982 to 1984. Upon completion of the Coop Program in 1985, she began her career in the Programs and Resources Division as a branch secretary. The organization eventually reorganized and became the Resources Management Office in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO).
From 1985 to 2009, Amy worked her way up and served in many positions within the OCFO such as the Reimbursable Analyst, Program Support Analyst, Lead Analyst for Aeronautics, Lead Analyst for the Aviation Safety Program, Business Manager for Aeronautics, Project Manager for Project Management Information Improvement (PMII), Center Business Process Lead for Core Financial Systems, and Lead Analyst for Program Integration. Also during this timeframe, she completed her Bachelor degree in 1995 in Business Administration Computer Information Systems.
In 2009, Amy left the OCFO and held several other positions across the center. She served as the Business Manager for the Exploration and Space Operations Directorate, Deputy Director for Program Planning and Control (PP&C) for the Flight Projects Directorate and Aeronautics Directorate. She returned to the OCFO in 2014 and eventually became the Deputy CFO for Programs. In 2015, she did a detail as Deputy AA for Management in the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. She then accepted the position as Deputy CFO from 2016 until she retired in 2024.
In her spare time, Amy (aka NaNa) enjoys spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren.
We all had a great time at the LAA Winter Luncheon 2025 on December 9 at Surf Rider in Poquoson. Check out our Gallery for some photos from this fun event!
The NASA Langley Combined Federal Campaign CFC) Chili Cook-Off is fast approaching and we need your help!
Date: Thursday, December 11
Time: 11:00 – 1:00 pm (set-up starts at 10:30 am)
Place: NASA Langley Reid Center (Building 1202 / Integrated Engineering Services Building)
RSVP: Please fill out the google form by Thursday, December 4th (4:00 pm): CFC Chili Cook-Off Participation
(Filling out the form will provide us information on obtaining a one-day badge and your participation at the LAA table).
Neil O’Connor is the LAA organizer for this event (Thanks Neil)!
We plan on setting up a table with multiple chili options. We’ll also be doing some recruiting for the LAA. If you would like to participate by bringing some chili or just helping by staffing the table and/or recruiting, please join us. You can volunteer for one hour and then visit other chili tables if you would like as well. If you typically like to bring something to accompany your chili, such as cornbread, please feel free to do so. Please also bring a serving spoon!
