NASA Glenn leader, who oversaw Plum Brook, retiring

PERKINS TWP. — The leader of all NASA operations in Ohio announced her retirement on Tuesday, which goes into effect Sept. 30.Janet Kavandi, a former astronaut who assumed the role of NASA Glenn Research Center's director in spring 2016, provided a statement on her upcoming departure."It was a difficult decision to call my NASA career to an end, especially at a time when the agency is preparing to send the first woman and next man to the moon," Kavandi said. "The agency has provided me with experiences I could have never imagined, and it was an absolute honor to lead the men and women at NASA Glenn."Selected as a NASA astronaut in December 1994, the Missouri native completed three space shuttle flights, serving as a mission specialist on STS-91 in 1998, STS-99 in 2000 and STS-104 in 2001. She logged more than 33 days in space, traveling more than 13 million miles and earning an induction into the Astronaut Hall of Fame this past April.After a 20-plus-year career at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, she arrived in Ohio in 2015 upon being named NASA Glenn's deputy director. One year later, she received a promotion to the center director.In her new role, Kavandi led all state-based NASA operations spread across two campuses: a headquarters in Cleveland and the Plum Brook Station in Erie County.She supported many groundbreaking initiatives at Plum Brook. Chief among them: Orion, the mission aiming to carry astronauts into deep space and even maybe Mars. Testing and other experimentation on Orion continues at Plum Brook."Without those tests, we can't fly the vehicle," Kavandi told the Register in a spring 2016 news article. "So (Plum Brook is) pretty critical to the success of the Orion program, which is then critical to exploration and NASA's plan for exploration."Under Kavandi's guidance, Glenn experienced one of the largest increases in workload and funding in the center's history. This would include the center obtaining $850 million in funding for 2019.A NASA Glenn spokesman said information on leadership changes following Kavandi's retirement will be announced at a later date.Reach reporter Andy Ouriel at ouriel@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @AndyOuriel.Janet Kavandi on Tuesday announced her retirement as director of the NASA Glenn Research Center, which oversees operations at its Plum Brook Campus in Erie County, effective Sept. 30.