NASA has selected Kayla Barron. Naval Academy graduate and former submarine officer from Richland, Washington, to command the upcoming SpaceX Crew-14 mission to the International Space Station, according to a NASA announcement on Thursday. Barron and her international crew will launch no earlier than spring 2027 to conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations preparing humans for deep space exploration to the moon and Mars.
Submarine Background Informs Space Flight Career
Barron’s path to commanding a human spaceflight mission runs through the U.S. Navy, where she served as a submarine officer on the USS Maine. As part of the first class of women commissioned to be a submarine officer, she completed three strategic deterrent patrols operating in confined spaces with limited resources, experience she later connected directly to long-duration spaceflight. When she was selected as a NASA astronaut candidate in 2017, Barron noted that operating in the hostile environment of the ocean shares clear parallels with the demands placed on astronauts aboard space stations.
That naval engineering background paired with a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. Her father, Scott Sax, is the retired president of Central Plateau Cleanup Co. at the Hanford nuclear site, and her mother, Laurie Sax, coached her in track and cross country at Richland High School, where Barron graduated in 2006.
International Crew and Station Operations for Crew-14
For the SpaceX Crew-14 expedition, Barron will lead a diverse flight crew representing three space agencies. NASA astronaut Chris Birch will serve as mission pilot, Makotot Suwa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will act as a mission specialist, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Arutyun Kiviryan will round out the team as a second mission specialist.
This assignment marks Barron’s second journey to the orbiting laboratory. During her first six-month stay as a mission specialist on the Crew-3 mission—launching in November 2021 and returning in May 2022—she completed two spacewalks, served as lead robotics operator for a third, and worked on roughly 200 research projects. Those projects included botany research inside the Life Science Glovebox examining the genetic architecture of plant regeneration in space, alongside developing operational concepts for crewed lunar missions.
Supporting NASA’s Artemis Program and Deep Space Infrastructure
Ahead of her 2027 launch, Barron is actively supporting the development of next-generation technologies for NASA’s Artemis Program, which aims to return humans to the moon as a stepping stone toward Mars exploration. Her current support work focuses on developing advanced planetary spacesuits, lunar rovers, and Gateway, the planned space station designed to orbit the moon as a hub for deep space missions.
Reflecting on her initial six-month residency aboard the station—during which she witnessed 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets daily and spoke with then-Washington Gov. Jay Inslee about STEM education and climate change—Barron described the stay as a transformative experience and an extraordinary privilege.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When will the SpaceX Crew-14 mission launch?
NASA announced that the Crew-14 mission will launch no earlier than spring 2027.
Who are the crew members joining Kayla Barron on Crew-14?
Barron will command the mission alongside NASA pilot Chris Birch, JAXA mission specialist Makotot Suwa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Arutyun Kiviryan.
What was Kayla Barron’s role on her first space mission?
Barron served as a mission specialist on the Crew-3 mission from late 2021 to early 2022, completing two spacewalks and contributing to approximately 200 research projects.
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