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Profile
Ms. Suzy Cunningham is KSC’s OCOMM Strategy & Integration Manager. She works with NASA, Industry, Academic, DoD, and other leaders to research community & Center issues/initiatives. She determines KSC and/or Agency impacts and collaborates to develop strategic approaches/recommendations that synergize efforts/best utilize resources. She’s the 1st KSC SpaceCom/Space Congress Gov’t Chair, and the NASA KSC liaison for American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA), National Space Club FL (NSCFL), Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, and American Space Museum & Walk of Fame.
She was previously KSC’s Strategic Planning Manager. She advised Sr. Management on KSC planning activities/analyses concerning present & future KSC operations and development; and facilitated development of Center-wide strategic policies & initiatives. She was the business development and strategic planning liaison to Air Force 45th Space Wing (45SW) and was a Space Florida (SF) Board Advisory Member.
Prior to that, she was KSC’s Lead for Partnerships & Industry. She led a team in establishing & maintaining strategic partnerships with NASA, Industry, Academia, DoD, & state/federal entities. She was KSC’s liaison to the Governor’s Commission on Future of Space & Aeronautics in FL, & the KSC SF liaison. She was also a Sr. technical expert on the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) Orbiter Thermal Protection System (TPS) Gap-filler Assessment Group.
She was previously Acting Deputy & Senior Spaceport Manager for the KSC/45SW Cape Canaveral Spaceport Planning & Customer Service Office, aka the Spaceport “front door”. She established the office, incl. briefings to KSC/45SW Executives & the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy. She was the customer’s primary interface for facilities/services for launch, test, & technology development. She was also a NASA technical expert on the STS-107 Columbia Mishap Investigation/Reconstruction Team and the NESC Space Shuttle & International Space Station Recurring Anomalies Team.
Before this, Ms. Cunningham was a KSC Advanced Development & Shuttle Upgrades Project Manager. Her projects included Orbiter TPS and Bio-regenerative exploration. Her teams published on material/process improvements, presenting at the International Astronautical Federation Congress in Amsterdam.
She was Executive Intern to retired Astronaut & STS-1 Pilot and KSC Director, USN Capt. Bob Crippen, in 1994.
Ms. Cunningham has received NASA’s Government Invention of the Year Award, Exceptional Service & Exceptional Achievement Medals, the Center Director’s “Gold Dollar” Award, NASA’s “You Make a Difference” award, and the AF 45SW Operational Readiness Inspection Award. She’s also an Associate Fellow of AIAA.
Prior to coming to KSC in 1986, she worked as an Aerospace Engineer at Allison Gas Turbine in Indianapolis.
She has a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Missouri Science &Technology, and an MS in Space Systems Operations from Florida Tech.
She’s active in education/outreach. She mentors K-12 & college students, new hires, etc. and represented KSC on Agency Outreach teams. She enjoys touring students, dignitaries, etc., sharing NASA’s story. She’s also a singer and performs for NASA, AIAA, NSCFL, etc. She’s a member of NSCFL, Women in Aerospace, and AIAA (Space Transportation Technical Committee & Management Integration and Outreach Committee).
She resides in Merritt Island near the nation’s Spaceport with her husband Phil.
Sessions