Kristin Fisher

Space and Defense Correspondent

Kristin Fisher joined CNN in July 2021 as the network's Space and Defense Correspondent. In that role, she covers everything from NASA and the newly created Space Force, to commercial space companies and the advent of space tourism.
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Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft that launched NASA’s Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station is pictured docked to the Harmony module’s forward port. This long-duration photograph was taken at night from the orbital complex as it soared 258 miles above western China.
NASA
NASA’s decision on Boeing Starliner astronauts more than a week away
Aug 14, 2024
Two astronauts on an extended mission to the International Space Station due to issues with the Starliner capsule won’t know the path forward for at least a week.
iss071e182991 (June 13, 2024) --- The Starliner spacecraft on NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test is pictured docked to the Harmony module's forward port as the International Space Station orbited 262 miles above Egypt's Mediterranean coast.
NASA
NASA delays SpaceX astronaut mission as rumors swirl about Boeing Starliner’s safety
Aug 6, 2024
The launch of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, which could serve as a backup vehicle for the Boeing Starliner astronauts, will be delayed, NASA announced Tuesday.
iss071e183650 (June 13, 2024) --- NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts (from top) Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams pose for a portrait inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station's Harmony module and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.
• Video 2:08
NASA
Hear options NASA could consider to bring Starliner astronauts home 2:08
Jul 25, 2024
NASA and Boeing officials say they still aren’t ready to provide a return date for the two veteran NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. CNN space and defense correspondent Kristen Fisher reports.
ULANQAB, CHINA - JUNE 25: The return capsule of the Chang'e-6 probe lands in the designated area on June 25, 2024 in Siziwang Banner, Ulanqab City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. The returner of the Chang'e-6 probe touched down on Earth on June 25, bringing back the world's first samples collected from the moon's far side. (Photo by Menghe Zhaoru/VCG via Getty Images)
Menghe Zhaoru/VCG/Getty Images
NASA administrator weighs in on China’s historic lunar far side samples — and potential US access
Jul 1, 2024
China now has the first samples ever collected from the far side of the moon and says it will share them with scientists around the world. But a 2011 law complicates access for the US.
Boeing's Starliner capsule atop an Atlas V rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on a mission to the International Space Station, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
John Raoux/AP
Boeing Starliner’s crew is now on the space station after encountering new issues en route
Jun 6, 2024
The spacecraft and crew safely reach their destination after NASA and Boeing discovered additional helium leaks and thruster issues.
The Apollo Lunar Module known as the Eagle descends onto the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 mission, 20th July 1969. This is a composite image comprised of two separate shots. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Space Frontiers/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Why it’s so difficult to land on the moon, even five decades after Apollo
Feb 23, 2024
More than 50 years after humans first began soft-landing spacecraft on the moon, it remains a treacherous feat with more than half of missions failing. Here’s why.
The Lead Moon Lander Space Tapper_00064821.png
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Private spacecraft to attempt historic moon landing 7:08
Feb 22, 2024
CNN’s Jake Tapper speaks with Kristin Fisher, Miles O’Brien, and Jim Bell
MOON
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Why it’s so difficult to land on the moon 2:44
Feb 22, 2024
Hundreds of thousands of miles beyond Earth, a phone booth-size spacecraft is en route to take on a challenge no vehicle launched from the United States has attempted in more than 50 years. CNN’s Kristin Fisher reports.
The Russian flag flies on the dome of the Kremlin Senate building behind Spasskaya Tower, while the roof shows what appears to be marks from the recent drone incident, in central Moscow, Russia, May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer
Stringer/Reuters/File
Exclusive: Russia attempting to develop nuclear space weapon to?destroy satellites with massive energy wave,?sources familiar with intel say
Feb 17, 2024
Russia is trying to develop a nuclear?space?weapon?that would?destroy satellites?by creating?a massive energy wave?when detonated,?potentially?crippling?a vast swath of the commercial and government satellites that the world below depends on to talk on cell phones, pay bills, and surf the internet,?according to three sources familiar with the intelligence.
02 surgery in space Virtual Incision.jpg
Courtesy Virtual Incision
Surgery in space: Tiny remotely operated robot completes first simulated procedure at the space station
Feb 14, 2024
The first surgery demonstration in space performed by a?robot — controlled by surgeons on Earth — has marked a technological milestone for long-term spaceflight.
surgical robot in space pkg
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Video shows surgeons remotely controlling robot to perform simulated surgery in space 1:57
Feb 14, 2024
Surgeons in Nebraska controlled the first “surgical robot” sent to space to perform simulated surgical activities on Saturday. In a CNN exclusive, the team behind the procedure and the robot, known as spaceMIRA, discuss the gravity of the activity.
(1/4) We've received the first image from Peregrine in space! The camera utilized is mounted atop a payload deck and shows Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) in the foreground.
From Astrobotic/X
Peregrine mission abandons moon landing attempt after suffering ‘critical’ fuel loss
Jan 9, 2024
Just hours after launching from Florida toward deep space early Monday morning, the first US lunar lander to take off in five decades is in jeopardy.
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 15: NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft stands on launch pad 39B as final preparations are made for the Artemis I mission at the Kennedy Space Center on November 15, 2022 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA is making its third attempt to launch the unmanned Artemis I mission to the moon following a series of technical and weather delays. (Photo by Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
First on CNN: NASA expected to announce ‘months-long delay’ for crewed Artemis moon mission
Jan 8, 2024
NASA leadership is expected Tuesday to announce a “months-long delay” to the first crewed missions of the agency’s flagship Artemis program, according to one current and one former NASA employee.
Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance's next-generation Vulcan rocket launches on its debut flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. January 8, 2024. REUTERS/Joe Skipper
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Joe Skipper/Reuters
Human remains aboard moon-bound spacecraft are causing controversy. Here’s why 1:43
Jan 8, 2024
The first lunar lander the US has launched in more than five decades is on the way to the moon. If all goes to plan, the “Peregrine” will touch down on February 23 after taking off from Cape Canaveral in Florida. It is expected to become the first commercial mission to land on the moon, as part of NASA’s collaboration with private space companies. CNN’s Kristin Fisher has more.
Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander is encapsulated with Ula's Vulcan rocket.
Astrobotic Technology
Navajo Nation’s objection to landing human remains on the moon prompts last-minute White House meeting
Jan 6, 2024
The White House convened a meeting to discuss a mission set to launch Monday after the Navajo Nation asked for a delay because it will carry human remains for lunar burial.
US Vice President Kamala Harris during a briefing with Emmanuel Macron, France's president, not pictured, at the NASA headquarters in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022. President Joe Biden will welcome Macron for the first White House state dinner in more than three years on Thursday, setting aside recent tensions with Paris over defense and trade issues to celebrate the oldest US alliance. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images
United States announces plan to land international astronaut on the moon
Dec 21, 2023
Vice President Kamala Harris announced Wednesday that an international astronaut will be landing on the surface of the moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program.

About

Kristin Fisher joined CNN in July 2021 as the network’s Space and Defense Correspondent. In that role, she covers everything from NASA and the newly created Space Force, to commercial space companies and the advent of space tourism.

As the daughter of two NASA astronauts, Kristin grew up in the space industry and spent the last five years covering the Trump and Biden Administration’s space policies as a White House Correspondent for FOX News. During that time, she also covered two presidential impeachment trials, the 2020 presdiential campaign, and two administration’s efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic. She also traveled extensively with the President and Vice President, including a top secret trip to Afghanistan with former President Donald Trump.

Prior to joining the network in 2015, Kristin spent nearly a decade working her way up through local TV news markets in Grand Junction, Colorado; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Washington, D.C. where she won an Emmy Award as a one-man-band reporter for the city’s CBS affiliate. Using her skills behind the camera, Kristin founded Field Mouse Films in 2014, which specialized in making documentary-style films for corporate clients including Uber and Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Kristin earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from Boston University. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and their three year old daughter.