As Artemis II pushes deeper into its historic journey, one Central Alabama woman is reflecting on the work that helped make the mission possible.Dr. Kimberly Robinson, an Irondale native and longtime NASA leader, spent more than three decades helping America reach for the moon. Even though she retired last summer as CEO of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Robinson’s impact lives on through Artemis II — the mission now carrying astronauts farther than humans have traveled in decades.While the world watches the crew prepare to leave Earth’s orbit and survey the moon for future landings, Robinson said it is important to remember the people behind the scenes. Robinson said her role in Artemis II began early — long before liftoff. She helped shape the mission’s initial configurations and worked on the engineering and planning that laid the foundation for the flight. Her work also included helping lead teams and contributing to hardware development tied to the mission.“Certainly, we sat around and helped dream up some of this, and it’s just great to see it come to fruition,” Robinson said, “but it certainly was nothing that I did. I was just a part of a team doing my job and trying to contribute and trying to keep pushing the mission forward.”For Robinson, the journey to space leadership began much closer to home. She told WVTM 13 that support from her hometown of Irondale — and from people across Central Alabama — helped carry her through moments when the mission, and even her career path, felt out of reach. That was until she was a student at Shades Valley High School and a female NASA astronaut presented her with an award. Robinson said that moment changed everything.At a time when few women had technical jobs in the space industry, Robinson said she often had to prove herself again and again.“It was constantly proving to them and to myself that, ‘Yes, I can do this work,’” she said. “I can design rockets. I can design spaceships. I can talk to astronauts on orbit. I can train astronauts. It’s a lot of reassuring yourself over and over again that you can do it, and every time you see another woman in the field, it just encourages you more.”Now retired from NASA leadership, Robinson is continuing that mission of inspiration through her own company, Higher Orbit.
As Artemis II pushes deeper into its historic journey, one Central Alabama woman is reflecting on the work that helped make the mission possible.
Dr. Kimberly Robinson, an Irondale native and longtime NASA leader, spent more than three decades helping America reach for the moon. Even though she retired last summer as CEO of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Robinson’s impact lives on through Artemis II — the mission now carrying astronauts farther than humans have traveled in decades.
While the world watches the crew prepare to leave Earth’s orbit and survey the moon for future landings, Robinson said it is important to remember the people behind the scenes. Robinson said her role in Artemis II began early — long before liftoff. She helped shape the mission’s initial configurations and worked on the engineering and planning that laid the foundation for the flight. Her work also included helping lead teams and contributing to hardware development tied to the mission.
“Certainly, we sat around and helped dream up some of this, and it’s just great to see it come to fruition,” Robinson said, “but it certainly was nothing that I did. I was just a part of a team doing my job and trying to contribute and trying to keep pushing the mission forward.”
For Robinson, the journey to space leadership began much closer to home. She told WVTM 13 that support from her hometown of Irondale — and from people across Central Alabama — helped carry her through moments when the mission, and even her career path, felt out of reach. That was until she was a student at Shades Valley High School and a female NASA astronaut presented her with an award. Robinson said that moment changed everything.
At a time when few women had technical jobs in the space industry, Robinson said she often had to prove herself again and again.
“It was constantly proving to them and to myself that, ‘Yes, I can do this work,’” she said. “I can design rockets. I can design spaceships. I can talk to astronauts on orbit. I can train astronauts. It’s a lot of reassuring yourself over and over again that you can do it, and every time you see another woman in the field, it just encourages you more.”
Now retired from NASA leadership, Robinson is continuing that mission of inspiration through her own company, Higher Orbit.