First woman to fly to space in a commercial vehicle
Beth Moses graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering in 1992 and 1994, respectively. With her co-op experience included, she spent more than 20 years at NASA, where she served as the Space Station EVA system manager, contributing to the International Space Station (ISS) from its conceptualization to completion. After the ISS project, Moses transitioned to the private sector, joining Virgin Galactic in 2013 as chief astronaut instructor and interior program manager. On Feb. 22, 2019, she became the 25th Purdue alum to journey into space when she traveled aboard Virgin Galactic's flight VSS Unity 22, reaching nearly 56 miles above Earth. Notably, she became the first woman to fly to space on a commercial vehicle, earning her Commercial Astronaut Wings from the Federal Aviation Administration. Moses has since completed six space flights with Virgin Galactic. Purdue honored her with an Outstanding Aerospace Engineer Award in 2018.