After flying NASA’s Orion capsule as the mission’s sole Artemis pilot, Victor Glover—born in Pomona and shaped by Southern California’s aviation hubs—says Artemis will require a new training mindset as the agency accelerates moon launches. With the Artemis ast
Victor Glover steps away from the media spotlight knowing exactly what comes next: training the Artemis generation. The space agency’s Artemis II mission wrapped its flight around the moon last month. and as the crew finishes its high-profile international stop. the Southern Californian at the center of the moment is already focused on the next job—hands-on preparation for missions that won’t tolerate anything less than mastery.
Glover is now the only pilot to have flown NASA’s Orion capsule. For him, the change in pace is personal and practical at the same time. He plans to put his head down and get to work. while the agency tries to ramp Artemis launches from once every 3 1/2 years to every six months. The International Space Station. by contrast. has a training system that has been “very well-worn” for more than 25 years as crews have rotated through low Earth orbit.
“I think Artemis is going to demand us to change the paradigm,” Glover told The Times. He said that familiar ISS approach won’t be enough for the kind of complex, high-stakes work the moon program demands.
Until the launch schedule and training regimen fully catch up. Glover believes astronauts need to take more ownership of how they’re prepared. “Until we get really ramped up and have a solid training program. I think astronauts need to take more ownership of the training and be involved so we can share this experience. ” he said.
As of today, the list of Artemis astronauts is only four people long—and the list of Artemis pilots has only one name: Victor Glover.
His path to that singular role began in Pomona. Glover was born there. graduated from Ontario High School. and lived “all over” Southern California’s urban sprawl. including Baldwin Village—something he referenced by its pre-1988 name. “The Jungle.” He went on to complete his undergraduate studies at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Then he earned graduate degrees (plural) from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey and the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base.
China Lake was where the work really sharpened him. Before NASA selected him as an astronaut. he cut his teeth as a test pilot at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in the Mojave. After being selected. he learned to fly SpaceX’s Dragon capsule at the company’s then-headquarters in Hawthorne before riding it to the ISS.
Even now, he misses those test pilot days—especially the intensity of pushing the limits of the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet while completing a master’s degree on the side. He described what it meant to him in plain terms: working really hard, but still having a life.
“That was actually maybe one of the best times of my career. We had our fourth daughter while we lived in China Lake,” he said. “I was … working really hard but having a ton of fun at a house full of kids.”
One of Glover’s favorite pictures, snapped by his wife, shows him sitting at his desk in his tan desert flight suit—focused on graduate school work while holding one of his daughters.
For all the hardware and training schedules, Glover sees his background as part of the mission’s identity. He points to how the Golden State’s deserts and coastal cities have left a lasting mark on America’s space program.
“Southern California is very uniquely postured to help NASA,” Glover said. “Southern California has the combination of culture and technology — and it doesn’t hurt to have Hollywood” to help share NASA’s mission and values.
He also recalled his joy seeing an “Iron Man” production crew, including actor and rapper Terrence Howard, roll through Edwards Air Force Base during his tenure.
Now living in Texas near NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Glover is focused on bringing that SoCal sensibility—and the piloting experience that earned him Orion’s only Artemis pilot slot—into the astronaut training program. He wants the training to reflect the reality of Artemis, not simply borrow what worked for the ISS.
When he was asked if he hopes to fly again on an Artemis mission, he gave a simple answer: “No.”
There was one other thing on his to-do list, though. “Tell L.A. I love them and all of Southern California — and I can’t wait to get back out there and visit my home state and my hometown.”
Victor Glover NASA Orion Artemis II Artemis astronauts Artemis pilots moon missions International Space Station training program Southern California Pomona China Lake Edwards Air Force Base SpaceX Dragon