Indian-Origin Engineer and NASA veteran Amit Kshatriya has been named the new associate administrator of NASA, the agency’s top civil service position. Acting NASA Administrator Sean P. Duffy announced the appointment on September 3, praising Kshatriya’s two decades of service. “Amit has spent more than two decades as a dedicated public servant at NASA, working to advance American leadership in space,” Duffy said. The role places Kshatriya at the heart of decision-making for the agency’s future missions.
Amit Kshatriya was born to Indian immigrant parents in Brookfield, Wisconsin. He received his academic training in mathematics from the California Institute of Technology and the University of Texas at Austin. Amit Kshatriya joined NASA as a robotics engineer in 2003 and quickly moved up through the ranks.
He is one of the few people in NASA's history to be honored as a mission control flight director. He achieved recognition for his leadership during International Space Station operations from 2014 to 2017.
Over the years, Kshatriya has worked in several major positions. He managed the ISS Vehicle Office with overall responsibility for engineering and logistics. Activities under his purview also included the Moon to Mars Program at NASA, especially the Artemis I mission that tested human deep-space exploration systems. He was awarded the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal and the Silver Snoopy Award, the latter of which is given by astronauts for outstanding service.
The appointment of Amit Kshatriya as NASA associate administrator brings a huge change to the agency’s leadership. His career is a blend of technical and management skills that favor him when tasks steer close to complex missions at NASA. For modern exploration, he might just be better than any other administrator with his extensive experience in robotics, space station operations, and Artemis.
This would mean smoother coordination across the 10 centers and mission directorates for NASA. For the world space community, it highlights the ever-increasing role of Indian-origin professionals in future space programs.
With long-term lunar missions around the corner and plans to explore Mars, Kshatriya's appointment is pivotal. Given his track record, Kshatriya should provide a steady hand as the agency undertakes ambitious projects in and beyond Earth.