Venezuelan engineer Nathalie Quintero shines in NASA's Artemis program

Venezuelan aerospace engineer Nathalie Quintero plays a central role in the integration of the Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket, the booster tasked with propelling the Orion capsule under NASA's Artemis program, according to the outlet Banca y Negocios on October 14, 2026. The Artemis program represents the current effort in space exploration to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon and to test the routes to Mars.

Born in Caracas and trained at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, Quintero joined the Kennedy Space Center through The Boeing Company, the prime contractor for the rocket's core stage. In her role within the Space & Launch division, she took on the coordination and functional validation of electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic and avionics subsystems, highly demanding technical work in the Vehicle Assembly Building and on the launch pad.

Quintero's work included the integration of the rocket's cryogenic structure during the Artemis I mission and in the preparations for the crewed Artemis II flight. In 2021, her operational performance earned her recognition as Engineer of the Year in Boeing's Florida Space Coast operations, a milestone that made her the first Hispanic woman to receive that distinction in that division of the company.

Beyond her technical work in space operations, Quintero founded STEM for Aerospace, a bilingual initiative aimed at promoting the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics among girls and young women in Latin America. The platform seeks to foster female leadership and analytical thinking in the regional aerospace industry ahead of upcoming global technological developments.