Dr. Edgar Castro is an expert in the creation of High Reliability Organizations. He is a member of NASA’s Senior Executive Service Corp and currently the chief of the Propulsion and Power Division at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Previously he specialized in successfully leading and restructuring multiple NASA organizations such as the Structures and Mechanics Division, Biomedical Systems Division, Robotics and Software Division, and the White Sands Test Facility. Edgar played a key role in returning NASA back to flight after both the Space Shuttle Challenger and Columbia accidents; he was part of the Shuttle-MIR program, the development and assembly of the International Space Station, the retirement of the Space Shuttle, and now the refocus of human exploration beyond earth’s orbit.
As an inventor and innovator, he holds multiple patents and publications in the aerospace technical community. Many of his designs continue to fly in space today. His leadership style has led him to bring together different technical design practices, standards, and cultures in the development of complex systems such as Russian docking adapters for the Space Shuttle program, Italian structures into the International Space Station, satellite deployers for the Japanese ISS module, and European propulsion elements for the Artemis program.
Dr. Castro’s emphasis now shifts to the convergence of government, industry, and academia partnerships addressing the challenges of shared accountability across collaborative partnerships and the development of an organizational workforce in a very competitive, rapidly changing, and unforgiving industry.
Dr. Castro is a first-generation immigrant from Lima, Peru. He received his Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University, his MBA from the University of Houston Clear Lake, and Doctorate from George Washington University.
Dr. Castro was recognized by HENAAC as the most promising engineer; NASA has recognized him with the Outstanding Leadership Medal and the Exceptional Service Medal; and most recently PANC recognized Dr. Castro with the International Excellence award.
