NASA Stories at the Ion: A Conversation with NASA’s Artemis II Orion Vehicle Manager Branelle Rodriguez
2026-05-28 08:30 - 10:00 (America/Chicago) | Ion – Forum Stairs, 4201 Main St., Houston, TX, 77002, United States
Join us for “NASA Stories at the Ion” featuring NASA’s Artemis II Orion Vehicle Manager Branelle Rodriguez, who will share what it took to ready the spacecraft that recently carried humans around the Moon for the first time in over half a century, returned them home safely, and ultimately brought humanity farther from Earth than ever before.
Orion, the only spacecraft capable of crewed deep space flight and high-speed reentry from the vicinity of the Moon, recently completed its Artemis II crewed test flight to confirm its systems performed as designed in the real environment of deep space. Learn how the team prepared Orion for this historic mission, what the Artemis II crew evaluated during their 694,481mile journey — including the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth — and how they piloted a deep space vehicle for the first time in more than 50 years.
Hear insights on the spacecraft’s high-speed reentry at nearly 35 times the speed of sound, the incredible views of the Moon and Earth witnessed through the eyes of the crew, and what’s next for Orion on NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions in 2027 and 2028.
This speaker series is designed to inspire anyone curious about what it takes to push the boundaries of human potential. Complimentary breakfast and networking kicks off each event.
About the Speaker
Branelle Rodriguez currently serves as the manager of program integration and Artemis II vehicle manager for the Orion Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Rodriguez focuses on overseeing the end-to-end development and production of the Artemis II Orion spacecraft and providing program leadership for integration and mission execution.
Rodriguez leads other various integration efforts within Orion, working to solve programmatic and technical issues through assessments and trade studies. She also supports Artemis program integration activities, helping to coordinate Orion’s efforts with larger Artemis long-duration goals of returning humanity back to the lunar surface. Additionally, she collaborates with international partners and handles financial matters including external audits and inquiries.
Since joining NASA in 2004, Rodriguez has had significant human spaceflight experience leading integration efforts and development projects. Prior to joining the Orion Program, she was the International Space Station (ISS) On-Orbit Engineering Manager in the ISS Program Office, leading the ISS Mission Evaluation Room (MER). In this role she provided key leadership and integration of the ISS MER with the ISS mission management chair, ISS program management, and vehicle office management on ISS operations and anomaly resolution. Throughout her ISS MER career, she has led several on-orbit flight investigation teams to resolve real time on-orbit anomalies, led subsystem and technical disciplines through various Visiting Vehicle integration efforts, and coordinated with multiple organization and international partners for day-to-day ISS operations.
Prior to her work in the ISS MER, Rodriguez has had notable flight hardware development experience from her time in Johnson’s Engineering Directorate, leading several projects involving multiple NASA centers and contractor teams through all phases of design and hardware certification, including managing schedules, budgets, and contracts.

Industrious Coworking Summer Series!
2026-05-28 08:30 - 17:00 | Industrious, 4201 Main St, Houston, TX, 77002
Register here: https://luma.com/m96miftt​
​Spend the day working from Industrious at the Ion.
​Join us for a free coworking day and experience what a better workday can feel like. Bring your laptop, settle in, enjoy coffee and refreshments, and get your work done in a space designed for focus, comfort, and connection.
​Whether you’re working solo, meeting a colleague, or looking for a new home base for your team, this is an easy way to experience Industrious firsthand.
​During the day, you’ll have access to:
​• Thoughtfully designed shared workspace • Coffee, breakfast, and snacks • Comfortable common areas • On-site support from our local team • Opportunities to connect with other professionals in the space
​As well as our NASA Day Programming within the Ion building.
​Industrious offers coworking, private offices, suites, meeting rooms, and flexible workplace options for individuals and teams. With 250+ locations across 80+ cities globally, we make it easier to find a workspace that works for you. Space is limited. RSVP to reserve your spot.
​Parking:
Parking is free for the first 3 hours, then $10 for the remainder of the day.
​We look forward to welcoming you!

NASA Tech Talks: Texas-France Space Hub Business Accelerator Initiative (Spring 2026 Cohort)
2026-05-28 18:00 - 19:00 | Ion, 4201 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002, United States
We want HOU! Join us to discover NASA’s toughest tech challenges—and apply your skills and expertise to solve them.
This month NASA Tech Talks is once again partnering with the Rice Space Institute (RSI) in their efforts to fuel startup growth, drive research, and forge international partnerships. Last year, RSI joined with Business France, the French Space Agency CNES and the French Consulate in Houston to launch the Texas-France Space Hub, aiming to unite academic institutions and private enterprises to expand commercial space presence in both countries.
The second cohort of French space companies will be in Houston May 4 to June 12, and we are looking forward to hearing from them at our NASA Tech Talk on May 28.
3IPK: Advancing Trusted Data for Aerospace and Defense
Watt&Well: Pioneering High-Performance Power Electronics for Critical Applications
Infinity Space Providers (ISP): Enabling Scalable Hybrid Propulsion for the Next Generation of Space Mobility
Join us to learn more about the Texas-France Space Hub, and to hear from each of these companies.
Please join us after the talk for drinks and networking at Second Draught!

About the Speakers
Montgomery B. Goforth has more than 40 years of experience as both Engineer and Manager in a variety of highly technical space and defense-related efforts. After working for a small defense contractor specializing in anti-submarine warfare, he joined NASA’s Johnson Space Center in 1990. He has held leadership positions in multiple JSC Directorates and Program Offices. In his previous role as Assistant Director of the JSC Engineering Directorate, he established a framework to better focus Engineering’s efforts towards Human Spaceflight technology and systems development consistent with JSC and Agency goals for exploration. Mr. Goforth is now serving as Acting Director of the Business Development & Technology Integration Office at JSC, and as the JSC Chief Technologist. In these capacities he will be helping to expand the Houston Aerospace Community through the identification of opportunities to develop space/terrestrial technologies of interest to JSC and Human Space Exploration. Mr. Goforth was born in East Texas, raised in Southern California and Arizona, and graduated from Rice University (BSME 1982, MSME 1987).
About the Rice Space Institute
The Rice Space Institute (RSI) at Rice University is an interdisciplinary coordinating hub that fosters collaboration in space science, technology, and policy. Formed in 2000, it builds on Rice’s deep history in space exploration, which includes opening the first space science department in the U.S. in 1963 and hosting JFK’s famous 1962 “Moon Speech”.
Primary Missions
Interdisciplinary Research: RSI supports research into the origins of planetary habitability and sustaining human life beyond Earth.
Education & Leadership: The institute trains future leaders in space science and advocacy through programs like the Professional Science Master’s (PSM) in Space Studies.
Public Outreach: RSI maintains an international reputation for public engagement, including public lecture series and managing the Rice Campus Observatory.
About NASA Tech Talks
In these presentations, occurring the fourth Thursdays of the month, Mr. Montgomery Goforth and other aerospace subject matter experts will discuss the technology development challenges faced by NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the surrounding Aerospace community in our ongoing efforts as the hub of human spaceflight. Presentations will focus on the ways in which these challenges, and the associated opportunities, can be leveraged by Houston’s innovation community. We will continue to identify potential space/terrestrial technologies of interest to Human Spaceflight. Past NASA Tech Talks have included topics such as:

From Space to Startup: Leveraging NASA Technology and Innovation to Propel Your Growing Enterprise
Disruptive Filter Technology for Spacecraft Water Treatment: The New Promise of Graphene
Lunar dust capture using novel multiplexed inertial filter
Lunar Passive Fuel Cell Technologies:
Microbes in Space
