About Katherine

Katherine is a space systems engineer and has worked in the space industry for over 12 years across six countries, on human spaceflight missions and technologies, the International Space Station, debris removal concepts, scientific, Earth observation and space exploration missions.

As a dual British citizen, Katherine applied to ESA’s call for new astronauts in 2021. She successfully passed all selection stages, which highly qualifies her to start basic astronaut training. Based on her strong results in the ESA astronaut selection process, the Australian Space Agency has decided to cover the cost of her participation in basic training.

She will be trained at ESA as an Australian astronaut candidate on a cost reimbursement basis, similar to how non-American astronauts train at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Katherine will be seconded to ESA for the training while remaining an employee of the Australian Space Agency. She will not become an active member of the ESA astronaut corps.

“As the European centre of excellence for astronaut selection, training and support, the teams at EAC provide European and international astronauts with the skills and knowledge they need to fly to the International Space Station today, while preparing them for exploration beyond low Earth orbit. As one of only three centres in the world to train foreign astronauts and certify completion of basic training according to the international ISS standards, we look forward to continuing this journey together”, explains David Parker, ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration.