The university was founded in 1963 and counts Teresa Kinney ’11MS among its alumni. Kinney lives in Merritt Island near the Kennedy Space Center and works as the transportation office program lead engineer for NASA’s Moon Base Program.
In that role she oversees the development and evaluation of surface transportation systems that will move cargo and equipment across the lunar south‑pole region, support deep‑space and orbital missions, and integrate hardware into the overall lunar architecture. Her team assesses whether transportation concepts are technically ready and align with NASA’s long‑term plan for a permanent outpost located roughly 238,855 miles from Earth.
Kinney also serves as project chief engineer for the Liquid Oxygen‑Methane Assessment, a joint effort with NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Space Force that quantifies the explosive risks of large quantities of cryogenic propellants. The work aims to improve safety protocols for spacecraft, launch sites and surrounding communities by understanding how complex systems behave and where they might fail.
Press release issued by UCF Today:
https://www.ucf.edu/news/ucf-grad-nasa-engineer-helps-build-americas-first-moon-base/
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