Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch steps down from active flight duty

NASA announced that Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch will become the agency's acting deputy chief engineer on Nov. 1, moving to management astronaut status and losing eligibility for future spaceflight assignments. She succeeds Katherine Van Hooser, who retires Oct. 21 after more than 35 years at NASA.

• Koch becomes NASA acting deputy chief engineer on Nov. 1
• She is no longer eligible for future spaceflight assignments
• Koch holds the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman: 328 days
• Artemis III, a LEO docking test, is scheduled for 2027