Caroline Cawthon: Supporting America’s Future in Low Earth Orbit

NASA · April 7

Since joining NASA in 2017 as a contractor supporting the International Space Station, Caroline Cawthon has held many roles supporting real-time operations as a certified flight controller, team lead, and lead systems engineer.

A woman wearing a tan top with a black blazer stands in front of a U.S. flag (left) and NASA flag (right) in front of a blue background.

Caroline Cawthon’s official NASA portrait.

NASA is one of the biggest most impressive networks of engineering, science, and space program expertise in the world and to not leverage that experience in mentorship would be a waste.

Caroline Cawthon

CLDP Engineering and Integration Lead

Now, she is supporting America’s future in orbit as the systems engineering and integration lead for NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program engineering technical authority. Cawthon supports the program’s chief engineer office. In this position, she plays a key role in the oversight of phase 1 partner requirements and processes as part of the program’s two-phase approach to support the development of commercial space stations.

Growing up in military and NASA communities, Cawthon was fascinated with aviation and aerospace from a young age and aspired to become a fighter pilot and engineer. She first met an astronaut while attending Space Camp at the Euro Space Center in Belgium, sparking her interest in human spaceflight and solidifying her goals to work for NASA, make an impact, and be a part of making history. She later earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical and materials engineering and her master’s degree in aeronautics and space systems.

A group of girls wearing white t-shirts pose outside on a field. Some of them are holding miniature rockets. A man in a blue jumpsuit stands behind them.

Cawthon attending Space Camp as a child at the Euro Space Center in Belgium.

Image courtesy of Caroline Cawthon

Cawthon describes the best part of her day as the people she works with, and her passionate and mission-driven team reminds her that the mission she’s working toward will make a difference in the future of human spaceflight.

“Between the program, engineering team, and our industry partners, there are thousands of years of experience with human spaceflight that I get to leverage every day to learn and grow in my role and to help NASA accomplish our mission,” shared Cawthon.

A recent example of this mission-driven teamwork was the development of the program’s technical standards design evaluation document. As the lead for this task, Cawthon was proud of how everyone’s hard work and contributions came together.

The biggest lesson Cawthon has learned while working with NASA is to continue being curious, learning, and growing both personally and professionally.

“NASA is one of the biggest most impressive networks of engineering, science, and space program expertise in the world and to not leverage that experience in mentorship would be a waste,” Cawthon said.

Two adults and a child (middle) pose outside for a family photo.

Cawthon pictured with her husband and daughter.

Image courtesy of Caroline Cawthon

Outside of work, Cawthon enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and daughter. She and her family also like to be on the road, exploring new places and meeting new people. They enjoy international travel and small weekend adventures like the local zoo and aquarium.

Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program at:

Commercial Space Stations

View the full article