North Carolina State University in the context of "Research Triangle"

Christina Koch (/kʊk/ COOK; née Hammock; born January 29, 1979) is an American engineer and NASA astronaut of the class of 2013. She received Bachelor of Science degrees in electrical engineering and physics and a Master of Science in electrical engineering at North Carolina State University. She also did advanced study while working at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Just before becoming an astronaut, she served at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as station chief for American Samoa.

On March 14, 2019, Koch launched to the International Space Station as a flight engineer on Expedition 59, 60, and 61. On October 18, 2019, she and Jessica Meir were the first women to participate in an all-female spacewalk to replace a down power control unit located outside of the International Space Station. On December 28, 2019, Koch broke the record for longest continuous time in space by a woman. She returned from space on February 6, 2020.

Raleigh (/ˈrɑːli/ RAH-lee) is the capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte), tenth most populous city in the Southeast, the largest city in the Research Triangle area, and the 39th-most populous city in the U.S. Known as the "City of Oaks" for its oak-lined streets, Raleigh covers 148.54 square miles (384.7 km) and had a population of 467,665 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Wake County and is named after Sir Walter Raleigh, who founded the lost Roanoke Colony.

Raleigh is home to North Carolina State University and is part of the Research Triangle, which includes Durham (home to Duke University and North Carolina Central University) and Chapel Hill (home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). The Research Triangle area, centered around Research Triangle Park, has a population of over 2.37 million people. The Raleigh–Cary metropolitan statistical area alone has an estimated population of 1.51 million. Raleigh lies primarily in Wake County, with a small portion of the city extending into Durham County. Nearby suburbs include Apex, Cary, Clayton, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Holly Springs, Knightdale, Morrisville, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Wendell, and Zebulon.

Research Triangle Park (RTP) is the largest research park in the United States; it occupies 7,000 acres (2,833 ha) in North Carolina and hosts more than 300 companies and 65,000 workers. It is owned and managed by the Research Triangle Foundation, a private non-profit organization.

North Carolina's Research Triangle region is named for the facility, which sits within the geographic triangle formed by three nearby research universities: North Carolina State University, Duke University, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.