Biography:Kate Tice

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Kate Tice
NationalityAmerican
Alma materPennsylvania State University
OccupationIndustrial engineer; broadcast host
EmployerSpaceX
Known forOn-air commentary on SpaceX Falcon 9 and Starship launch webcasts

Kate Tice is an American industrial engineer and broadcast host who serves as a senior manager of quality systems engineering at SpaceX.[1][2] She is a regular on-air commentator for SpaceX launch webcasts and has been widely quoted and referenced by major science and technology outlets for her live coverage of Starship and Falcon 9 missions.[3][4] A graduate of Penn State, she was named to the university’s College of Engineering “40 Under 40” cohort in 2021 and received the department’s Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Award in 2022.[5][6] NASA and SpaceX’s coverage of the Crew Dragon Demo-1 mission, on which Tice served as a host, received the 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive Program.[7][8]

Early life and education

Tice earned a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 2012.[9]

Career

Tice joined SpaceX as an industrial/quality engineer and rose to become a senior manager of quality systems engineering.[1] She is best known publicly as a co-host of SpaceX’s launch webcasts, providing technical narration during Falcon 9 and Starship missions. Her commentary has been cited by national and international media outlets covering commercial spaceflight.[10][11]

During the first integrated Starship test flight on April 20, 2023, Tice described the outcome on SpaceX’s livestream as “an exciting end to the Starship inaugural integrated test flight,” a comment later quoted in trade and science press coverage of the flight.[10][11] In Washington Post coverage of the same flight, Tice was cited as SpaceX’s manager for quality systems engineering and noted the company had “five boosters and eight Starships in production” at that time.[1]

Tice has also provided on-air commentary during subsequent Starship flight tests, including the Flight 5 booster catch on October 13, 2024 (“This is a day for the engineering history books...”).[3] She again featured on SpaceX’s Flight 6 webcast on November 19, 2024, reacting to the ship’s survival through re-entry and splashdown,[4] and has appeared on webcasts for Crew Dragon missions as well.[12][13]

Beyond launch narration, Tice has discussed SpaceX’s manufacturing scale-up at Starbase’s “Starfactory,” stating on a 2024 webcast that the facility would “enable us to increase our production rate significantly as we build toward our long-term goal of producing one Ship per day.”[14]

Awards and recognition

  • Member of the Penn State College of Engineering “40 Under 40” cohort (2021).[5]
  • Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Award, Penn State Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (2022).[6]
  • NASA and SpaceX coverage of Crew Dragon Demo-1 — Outstanding Interactive Program (2019, team award).[7][15][16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Davenport, Christian (20 April 2023). "SpaceX’s Starship lifts off successfully, but explodes in first flight". The Washington Post (Nash Holdings). https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/04/20/spacex-starship-explosion-launch/. Retrieved 10 September 2025. 
  2. ↑ Wall, Mike (6 June 2024). "SpaceX Starship Blasts through Plasma on Return from Ambitious Test Flight". Scientific American (Springer Nature). https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/spacex-starship-blasts-through-plasma-on-return-from-ambitious-test-flight/. Retrieved 10 September 2025. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wall, Mike (13 October 2024). "SpaceX catches giant Starship booster with 'Chopsticks' on historic Flight 5 rocket launch and landing (video)". Space.com (Future plc). https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-flight-5-launch-super-heavy-booster-catch-success-video. Retrieved 10 September 2025. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wall, Mike (20 November 2024). "SpaceX’s Starship Soars in 6th Test Flight but Skips Booster Catch". Scientific American (Springer Nature). https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/spacexs-starship-soars-in-6th-test-flight-but-skips-booster-catch/. Retrieved 10 September 2025. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "College of Engineering announces 40 Under 40 cohort". University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University. 14 April 2021. https://www.psu.edu/news/engineering/story/college-engineering-names-inaugural-40-under-40-alumni-award-honorees. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "PSIMES GOLD Recipients". University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University. 2022. https://www.ime.psu.edu/alumni/recognitions/gold-award.aspx. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Malik, Tariq (15 September 2019). "NASA, SpaceX Coverage of 1st Crew Dragon Test Flight Wins Emmy". Space.com (Future plc). https://www.space.com/nasa-wins-emmy-for-spacex-crew-dragon-coverage.html. Retrieved 10 September 2025. 
  8. ↑ "NASA And SpaceX: The Interactive Demo-1 Launch". Los Angeles: Television Academy. 2019. https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/nasa-and-spacex-interactive-demo-1-launch. 
  9. ↑ "40 Under 40 Award Cohort — Kate Tice". University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University. 2025. https://www.engr.psu.edu/alumni/awards/40-under-40/cohort.aspx. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 O’Callaghan, Jonathan (1 October 2023). "Termination shock". Aerospace America (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics). https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/features/termination-shock/. Retrieved 10 September 2025. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Nature staff (20 April 2023). "Daily briefing: Liftoff and loss for SpaceX’s Starship". Nature (Springer Nature). https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01357-3. Retrieved 10 September 2025. 
  12. ↑ Davenport, Christian (8 April 2022). "SpaceX launches first all-private mission to International Space Station". The Washington Post (Nash Holdings). https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/08/spacex-axiom-launch-space-station/. Retrieved 10 September 2025. 
  13. ↑ Wall, Mike (19 March 2025). "Dolphins welcome SpaceX Crew-9 ship to the sea after splashdown (video)". Space.com (Future plc). https://www.space.com/space-exploration/international-space-station/dolphins-welcome-spacexs-crew-9-astronauts-home-after-splashdown-video. Retrieved 10 September 2025. 
  14. ↑ Garofalo, Meredith (8 June 2024). "SpaceX wants to build 1 Starship megarocket a day with new Starfactory". Space.com (Future plc). https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-one-a-day-starfactory. Retrieved 10 September 2025. 
  15. ↑ "NASA Wins Two Emmy Awards for Interactive Mission Coverage". Pasadena, California: NASA. 16 September 2019. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-wins-two-emmy-awards-for-interactive-mission-coverage/. 
  16. ↑ "Outstanding Interactive Program — 2019 Nominees & Winners". Los Angeles: Television Academy. 2019. https://www.televisionacademy.com/awards/nominees-winners/2019/outstanding-interactive-program. 

Further reading



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