Two people engaged in conversation outdoors. — Larry Leopard, Associate Director, Technical, at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and Kimberly Robinson, U.S. Space & Rocket Center CEO, welcome the viewers on NASA TV during the NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center on Friday, April 19, 2024 in Huntsville, Ala. (Eric Schultz / The Redstone Rocket)

Kimberly Robinson recently had the privilege to witness something that few on Earth get to experience.

Watching the Artemis II crew lift off on April 1, she saw years of her dedicated efforts at NASA continue to push humanity further than it has ever traveled from Earth.

Robinson’s 31-year career at NASA eventually led to her supporting Artemis I, the first human-rated launch vehicle to orbit the moon since Apollo, as a payload mission manager. She also helped develop the Space Launch System Program, which is responsible for creating the primary launch vehicle for the Artemis program.

She once briefed Victor Glover on the Artemis rocket back when he was an astronaut candidate visiting Huntsville, according to WBRC, and he went on to become the pilot of the Artemis II mission.

Today, she is a member of the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame and former CEO of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

Woman speaking into a microphone outdoors. — Kimberly Robinson, U.S. Space & Rocket Center CEO, welcomes the viewers on NASA TV during the NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center on Friday, April 19, 2024 in Huntsville, Ala. (Eric Schultz / The Redstone Rocket)

Watching Artemis II prepare for liftoff, she told WBRC, was an incredibly meaningful moment for her.

“It’s really incomprehensible. I can’t believe it. I remember doing my 5th grade term paper on Wernher von Braun and his rocket team. Never in my wildest imagination would I think that I would ever do something in a center he created.”
Kimberly Robinson, WBRC

The Artemis missions are a key step in the path toward establishing a long-term presence at the Moon and, eventually, paving the way for the first crewed mission to Mars.

“It’s very important that we keep pushing forward and meeting challenges because that’s where we’re going to find new materials, new drugs to cure diseases that have been around a long time.”
Kimberly Robinson, WBRC

Robinson is a graduate of Shades Valley High School in Irondale, the same school as many other well-known folks in pop culture, science and politics, including: