# William H. Gerstenmaier

william h. gerstenmaier (born September 1954) is an aerospace engineer and policymaker, who served as NASA's Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations between 2005 and July 10, 2019. While in that role, he was described as "arguably the most influential person when it comes to US spaceflight." Prior to being Associate Administrator, Gerstenmaier served as the International Space Station Office Program Manager, at Johnson Space Center, a position he began in June 2002. In February of 2020 SpaceX announced that Gerstenmaier, has joined the company as a consultant, as the company prepares to launch astronauts for the first time.