Professional Achievement I- Industry

After a lull in manned space flights following the retirement of the Shuttle program, Americans are gearing up for a new generation of exploration to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.  Melanie L. Weber, a Spacecraft Subsystem Design Engineer with Boeing Defense Systems–Space & Launch, is at the forefront of this new race to the stars.

With more than 15 years of experience in the aerospace field, Ms. Weber is playing a leading role in flight safety and mission success.  She’s one of only a few women – and even fewer Hispanics – with key responsibilities in the development and verification of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, America’s latest generation of human-rated spacecraft.

When the Starliner launched from Kennedy Space Center on its Orbital Flight Test, Ms. Weber made history as the first woman – and first Hispanic – to lead operations at a launch pad in the long, storied history of crewed spaceflight.

In addition to her duties as the Starliner Launch Pad Team Lead, her primary role is leading and certifying the Crew and Cargo Accommodations System for Starliner.

Her responsibilities include most of the hardware within the Crew Module Capsule, including the crew seats, which earned her a U.S. patent. Ms. Weber also integrates all vehicle provisions, crew supplies, and NASA Provided Cargo into the vehicle, valued in excess of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Ms. Weber was first inspired to become an aerospace engineer when she learned about the plight of Apollo 13. When she saw how NASA engineers worked together to bring the stranded astronauts home when it seemed impossible, she realized right then that she wanted to become a part of the nation’s manned space program.

Born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, Ms. Weber began her pursuit of that dream by attending The University of Texas in Austin, where she earned her bachelor’s degee in Aerospace Engineering.

She also first encountered the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers at the school, which allowed her to connect to other students with a similar background and led to a lifetime membership in SHPE.

At SHPE Lockheed Martin, Ms. Weber set up classes and networking events for the local chapter and for the SHPE National Conference. Her passion for volunteering with her community is also visible in the work she does with the Boeing Hispanic Employee Network in Houston, where she served as Site Co-Chair from 2011 to 2015. She is currently serving as the SHPE Region 7 Regional Professional Representative.

Ms. Weber has been honored with multiple awards including the Boeing Defense Systems – A Force in Motion Award (2018) for the CST-100 Starliner Suit Reveal, the Society of Women Engineers Space Coast Section Outstanding Woman Engineer (2019) and the NASA Astronauts’ Silver Snoopy Award (2019).