Is NASA Astronaut Christina Koch Related to the Koch Brothers? Here’s the Truth

There is no known family connection between NASA astronaut Christina Koch and the billionaire Koch brothers, Charles and David Koch. The shared surname is purely a coincidence.

Christina Koch was born Christina Hammock on January 29, 1979, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and raised in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Her biological father is Dr. Ronald Hammock, a urologist from Jacksonville, and her mother is Barbara Johnsen of Frederick, Maryland. She is the eldest of five siblings. She is not a “Koch” by birth; she acquired the surname when she married Robert Koch in October 2015. The couple resides in Galveston, Texas, and shares their home with a rescue dog.

The Koch brothers, by contrast, are the grandsons of Harry Koch, a Dutch immigrant who arrived in the United States in 1888. Harry settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan, before moving to Texas, where he eventually purchased a local newspaper. His son, Fred C. Koch, founded Koch Industries, which grew into one of the largest privately held companies in the world. Fred’s sons—Charles Koch (born 1935) and David Koch (1940–2019)—became famous for their immense wealth and political influence.

While both Christina Koch and the Koch brothers have ties to Grand Rapids, Michigan, their family trees do not intersect. Christina’s father is a physician from North Carolina, while the Koch brothers’ lineage traces back to a Dutch immigrant printer. Christina’s surname came through marriage; the brothers inherited theirs from their father.

In short, the NASA astronaut who spent 328 consecutive days aboard the International Space Station—the longest single spaceflight by a woman—shares nothing more than a common surname with the billionaire industrialists. No credible sources indicate any familial relationship between Christina Koch and the Koch brothers.