Space Insider
February 11, 2025
In the evolving landscape of human spaceflight, the interplay between safety, progress, and commercial innovation is a crucial balancing act. Bill Parsons, vice president of human space programs at Peraton and a former NASA senior executive, has spent decades navigating these challenges. During his long and distinguished career, he was manager of NASA’s Return to Flight Space Shuttle Program following the Columbia disaster and later served as the director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center. We had the opportunity to sit down with Parsons at the 2025 SpaceCom Expo in Orlando, Florida to discuss his impressive career in the space industry, his current role at Peraton, and his insights on what may be ahead for human space flight. From leading NASA’s Space Shuttle Return to Flight efforts to shaping the role of commercial companies in government space programs, Parsons offers a pragmatic perspective on what it takes to advance human spaceflight without compromising safety.
At Space Insider, we spend a lot of time interviewing and working with people who want to accelerate development cycles in the space sector: test, fail, figure it out, fix it, test again. But as Parsons pointed out, when it comes to human spaceflight, failure is not an option, and safety is priority number one. Few understand this better than he does.
Peraton’s Role in Civil Space
Peraton’s civil space program leverages decades of experience in space communications, mission integration, and human spaceflight operations. The company’s civil space division encompasses mission operations, space flight hardware manufacturing, and critical engineering services that support both NASA and other government agencies.
Parsons’ leadership at Peraton reflects his commitment to ensuring that human spaceflight remains a disciplined and technically rigorous endeavor. “Peraton is involved in a lot of business with NASA, and we want to do more,” Parsons explained. “We are pursuing key projects in human spaceflight, and our goal is to bring in the right expertise—people who have the experience and knowledge to take us further in this domain.”
