Katrina Carter-Journet is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Katrina has a BS in Physics (concentration in mathematics) from Southern University and A&M College (Baton Rouge, LA). She has a MS in Biophysics (focus in biomedical engineering) from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY). Katrina has worked in multiple industries ranging from Astrophysics, Biomedical Engineering, Aerospace, to 
Oil & Gas. 

However, her passion has always been aerospace. Katrina began her professional career studying gravitational-wave astrophysics at the LIGO Livingston-Observatory, part of a joint project between Caltech and MIT. Drawn by the idea that the Earth is just one glorious piece of the universe, she eventually transitioned her interest to human space exploration by supporting various projects and programs at National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
(NASA). Katrina contributed to Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) 
analyses for the Space Shuttle Program, Probabilistic Risk Assessments (PRA) for the International Space Station, and supported R&M for new Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) designs for future missions back to the moon and beyond. That same desire to continue to see the evolution of human space exploration led her to accept an amazing opportunity to work at Virgin Galactic as an Engineering Specialist supporting R&M. Katrina was also an active member of Virgin Galactic’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) outreach initiative, Galactic Unite, and one of the Coordinators for the Galactic Unite Black Leaders in Aerospace Scholarship & Training (BLAST) Program. 

Whether mentoring college students or doing workshops for children of all ages, Katrina wants to share what she has learned along the way. Katrina wants students to see that diversity in STEM fields and show them that they can chart a pathway for success in multiple industries. She makes sure to encourage all students to shine and to soar to greater heights. Katrina continued her commitment to space exploration by working at Blue Origin and embracing the company vision of “For the Benefit of Earth.” The concept of millions of people working and living in space, harnessing the limitless resources of space, and working on innovative ways to preserve our pale blue dot inspires her. In this next phase of Katrina’s career, she is excited to continue the transformative journey of a lifetime at Vast by developing the next space station for government and public use.