In 1993, Helms became the first U.S. military woman in space, as a crew member of STS-54 on space shuttle Endeavour. She is a veteran of five human spaceflight missions, including a long-duration mission on the International Space Station (ISS-2) in 2001, and holds the record for the world’s longest spacewalk (8 hours and 56 minutes).

From 2011 to 2014, Helms commanded the 14th Air Force (Air Force Space Command) and the Joint Functional Component Command for Space (U.S. Strategic Command), leading more than 20,500 personnel in providing missile warning capabilities, space situational awareness, satellite operations, and space launch and range operations.

She retired from military service in 2014 after more than three decades of service in the U.S. Air Force, NASA, and U.S. Strategic Command. She is currently the owner of Orbital Visions, LLC and is a member of the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel. Full biography here.

Ambassador Barbara Barrett, chairman of the board of trustees, remarked that “Lt. Gen. Susan Helms is a highly decorated and successful military leader, accomplishing many firsts in her lifetime. She will provide a unique point of view to our organization, which has provided mission assurance to space launches for over five decades.”