NASA Leaders from Goddard Space Flight Center Visit Draper Headquarters

CAMBRIDGE, MA—Draper recently hosted Dr. Christyl Johnson, Deputy Director for Technology and Research Investments at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, for a tour of the company’s headquarters in Cambridge and a discussion of the company’s efforts to increase the nation’s capacity for innovation, research and development for space exploration and space science.

Dr. Johnson underscored the value to the nation of independent nonprofit engineering organizations like Draper.

Jerry Wohletz, Draper’s CEO and president, said, “We are truly honored to host Deputy Director Johnson and her team, and provide the latest on our programs and capabilities that support space research, space science and space exploration.”

The Deputy Director visited Draper’s R&D center for space systems and was briefed on Draper’s capabilities in guidance, navigation and control, autonomous flight operations and rendezvous and proximity operations.

Draper has designed and developed capabilities for the U.S. space program since its earliest days. The company contributed to the Apollo Program, the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station and the Artemis program—in fact, Draper received the first major contract on Apollo. One of Draper’s current space initiatives includes NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), in which Draper is working to deliver scientific or commercial payloads to the moon as a service. Draper is also actively working with commercial space companies that are a fast-growing segment of the space economy.