Yuri Kubo
BS electrical engineering '08
MS electrical and computer engineering '15
Born: 1985
Mission: Awaiting assignment
NASA announced Sept. 22, 2025, that it selected Yuri Kubo and fellow Purdue alum Adam Fuhrmann out of more than 8,000 applicants to join a group of 10 new astronaut candidates. That made them the 29th and 30th members of Purdue’s Cradle of Astronauts.
They reported for duty in September 2025 to complete two years of initial astronaut training.
Kubo spent 12 years working across various teams at SpaceX, including as launch director for Falcon 9 rocket launches, director of avionics for the Starshield program and director of Ground Segment. Earlier in his career, Kubo was a co-op student at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where he completed multiple tours supporting the Orion spacecraft, the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle program. At the time of his selection, Kubo was the senior vice president of engineering at Electric Hydrogen.
A native of Columbus, Indiana, Kubo earned two degrees from Purdue: a bachelor’s in electrical engineering in 2008 and a master’s in electrical and computer engineering in 2015. Purdue’s College of Engineering named him a 2024 recipient of its 38 by 38 award.
