New NASA Astronaut: Rebecca Lawler

Bio
Rebecca “Becky” Lawler, born in Lewisville, Texas, considers Little Elm, Texas, her hometown. She is married with one child and enjoys running, painting, reading, and spending time with her family.

Lawler graduated from Little Elm High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2009. She graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School as a member of class 149 in 2016, earned a master’s in space systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 2018, and received a graduate certificate in engineering program management from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 2019.

Background
Formerly a lieutenant commander in the United States Navy, Lawler served for 11 years as a P-3C Orion pilot, deploying twice to the U.S. Sixth Fleet and accumulating over 300 hours of combat flight time. She was a developmental test pilot with Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 20, flying MQ-4C Triton, P-8A Poseidon, and C-38A.

In 2019, she served as aide to the Commander of Naval Air Systems Command and taught as an adjunct engineering professor. Transferred to NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps in 2020, she flew as a hurricane hunter during 2020 and 2021 seasons, completing 32 hurricane and 11 tropical storm penetrations. At selection, she was a flight test captain with United Airlines, flying Boeing 737, 787, and Airbus A320 series.