New NASA Astronaut: Yuri Kubo

Bio
Yuri Kubo, a native of Columbus, Indiana, graduated from the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities in 2004. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 2008 and a master’s in electrical and computer engineering in 2015 from Purdue University.

Kubo played professional Ultimate Frisbee for the Indianapolis AlleyCats and enjoys sports, outdoor activities, playing piano, and spending time with his family. He is married with two children and is a member of Mensa.

Earlier in his career, he interned at NASA’s Johnson Space Center supporting Orion, ISS, and Space Shuttle.

Background
Kubo spent 12 years at SpaceX in roles including launch engineer, ground controller, automation lead, launch conductor, launch director for Falcon 9, director of avionics for Starshield, and director of Ground Segment.

He developed a backup safing system that helped meet human spaceflight requirements and oversaw the overhaul of ground antenna architecture enabling more automation and simultaneous launches.

At the time of selection, he was senior vice president of Engineering at Electric Hydrogen, overseeing plant design teams, test, power systems, electrical design, controls, software, compliance, IT, facilities, environmental health and safety, integration, service, and control room operations. He reported for duty in September 2025 for initial astronaut training.