SpaceX hires former NASA’s human spaceflight programs as it prepares to launch first astronauts

As SpaceX prepares to launch first astronauts, the space company announced today it has hired William “Bill” Gerstenmaier, the former NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations. He will be reporting to VP Hans Koenigsmann.

SpaceX is only a couple of months away from its first attempt at launching astronauts and the company has brought in one of the foremost experts in human spaceflight to help it do so successfully, according to a report from CNBC.

SpaceX is planning its first launch of NASA astronauts between April and June of this year. Gerstenmaier is widely considered one of the world’s top specialists in flying humans in space, frequently testifying before Congress on the subject.

William Gerstenmaier, the former leader of NASA’s human spaceflight program, has now begun working at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, people familiar with his hiring told CNBC. In his new role Gerstenmaier is reporting to SpaceX vice president of mission assurance Hans Koenigsmann, those people said, as the company prepares to begin launching astronauts.

A SpaceX spokesperson confirmed that Gerstenmaier is a consultant for the company’s reliability engineering team.