Jacob L. Keaton - NASA
By Heather Monaghan
Published on April 3, 2026.
Jacob Keaton is the acting director of the International Space Station within NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington. His role involves leading agency-level strategy, policy, integration, and stakeholder engagement for the space station. His responsibilities include overseeing use of the station for research and technology demonstrations, maintaining a sustained U.S. presence in low Earth orbit by enabling a long-term commercial economy there. Keaton previously served as the senior policy adviser for NASA’s International Space station Division, where he oversaw legislative, interagency and international affairs related to the station. He also served as Space Operations chief of staff from September 2023 to December 2024 and a congressional fellow with the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation from May 2018 to April 2019.
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