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Streamlining Space Launch Range Safety (2000)

Chapter: Appendix B: Biographies of Committee Members

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographies of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2000. Streamlining Space Launch Range Safety. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9790.
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Appendix B
Biographies of Committee Members

ROBERT E. WHITEHEAD (chairman) entered government service in 1971 after receiving undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering mechanics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and completing one year of postdoctoral study at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center. Dr. Whitehead began his career with the Department of the Navy as a research engineer in the Aviation Department of the David Taylor Naval Ship Research and Development Center at Carderock, Maryland. He transferred to the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in 1976 as a scientific officer in applied aerodynamics. For the next 13 years, Dr. Whitehead held a number of positions at ONR, including director, Mechanics Division, from 1986 to 1989, when he transferred to NASA Headquarters, as the assistant director for aeronautics (rotorcraft). He held a variety of other positions before becoming the associate administrator for aeronautics in 1995 and associate administrator for aeronautics and space transportation technology in 1997. As associate administrator, Dr. Whitehead led a Research and Technology Enterprise of more than 6,000 civil servants and a similar number of contractors at four research centers with an annual budget of approximately $1.5 billion. Dr Whitehead retired from federal service in December 1997.

W. GAINEY BEST II has been employed by Lockheed Martin Astronautics since 1994. In 1997, Mr. Best became director of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Program, assuming responsibility for cost, schedule, technical baseline, and performance. Previously, he led the EELV Mission Integration Team. Before that, he was responsible to the director of the Titan Centaur Program for independent assessments of technical readiness for building, launch processing, and launching of each Titan Centaur vehicle. Mr. Best entered the U.S. Air Force in 1968, where he was the director of West Coast operations for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). He directed daily operations, including worldwide elements involved in the design, acquisition, launch, deployment, and orbital operation of satellites. He was also the program manager and the deputy program director for the Titan IV launch vehicle program. During his career in the Air Force, Mr. Best was the Air Force lead for the investigation of three launch failures. His experience includes many operational, satellite, and program management assignments. He has earned degrees in industrial management and mechanical engineering.

JOHN L. BYRON works in strategic planning, process engineering, and corporate planning for Johnson Controls of Cape Canaveral, Florida. For the past five years, he has been vice chairman of the Florida Space Business Roundtable. He is also a member of on the Board of Directors of the newly formed Florida Space Research Institute. Mr. Byron retired from the Navy in 1993 after more than 37 years of continuous active duty. During that time he commanded the Naval Ordnance Test Unit (NOTU) at Cape Canaveral, where he was director of Navy tests for the Eastern Range and supervised the launch of 52 Trident missiles from submerged submarines. Mr. Byron has a B.S. in physical oceanography from the University of Washington, and he is a graduate of The National War College.

BENJAMIN A. COSGROVE is a retired senior vice president of Boeing Commercial Airplane Group. His 43-year career as a structural engineer began at Boeing in 1949 on the B47 and B52 bombers. He was involved in the design and analysis of every Boeing commercial airplane from the 707 through the 777. Mr. Cosgrove was the chief design engineer of the 767, became vice president of engineering and flight testing in 1985, and was promoted to senior vice president in 1989. The National Aeronautic Association of Washington, D.C., has awarded him the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy for his lifetime contributions to commercial aviation safety and technical achievement. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and received an honorary doctorate of engineering from the University of

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographies of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2000. Streamlining Space Launch Range Safety. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9790.
×

Notre Dame. Mr. Cosgrove is also a member of the NASA Advisory Council’s Task Force on the Shuttle-Mir Rendezvous and Docking Missions and the Task Force on International Space Station Operational Readiness, which are chaired Lt Gen Thomas Stafford, USAF (retired).

JAMES W. DANAHER is the retired chief of the Operational Factors Division of the Office of Aviation Safety at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Washington, D.C. He has more than 35 years of experience in human factors and safety, in both industry and government. Since he joined the NTSB in 1970, Mr. Danaher has served in various supervisory and managerial positions, with special emphasis on human performance issues in flight operations and air traffic control. He has participated in the on-scene phase of numerous accident investigations, in associated public hearings, and in the development of NTSB recommendations for the prevention of future accidents. He is a former naval aviator and holds a commercial pilot’s license with single-engine, multi-engine, and instrument ratings. He has an M.S. degree in experimental psychology from Ohio State University and is a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute. Mr. Danaher has represented the NTSB at numerous safety meetings, symposia, and seminars, is the author or co-author of numerous publications, and served on the National Research Council’s Panel on Human Factors in Air Traffic Control Automation.

KINGSTON A. GEORGE is a retired chief engineer for safety from the 30th Space Wing, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. In 1959, he completed a unique five-year combined degree program at Ohio State University, graduating with a B.S. in engineering physics and an M.S. in nuclear physics. After two years as a researcher at the cyclotron laboratory at Ohio State, he joined the Operations Analysis Office under the Air Force at Vandenberg Air Force Base in 1961, where he was engaged in evaluating the capability and test design for ballistic missiles. He then moved to the newly formed Air Force Western Test Range in 1965, where his accomplishments include defining controlled areas during launch; establishing telescopic camera sites for engineering data; and developing improved data processing methods for real-time display and flight control. He was a member of the Range Commanders Council and chairman of the Executive Committee for one term. He also chaired a tri-service study on the use of GPS for launch ranges that culminated in a major project at Eglin Air Force Base funded by the U.S. Department of Defense to design and build GPS-based test range instrumentation. A member of Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Pi Sigma, and the American Physical Society, Mr. George was honored in 1989 as the Air Force Association’s Senior Manager of the Year. He is currently a senior consultant in the aerospace industry, primarily concerned with issues of real-time tracking and flight safety for space launch programs.

BILL HAWLEY has been employed by Hughes Space and Communications since 1978, where he currently is manager of Launch Systems Engineering and Operations. His responsibilities include all launch vehicle integration and engineering for Hughes spacecraft, system safety, and launch operations. Previously, as department manager of propulsion engineering, Mr. Hawley was responsible for propulsion system design and component development, including procurement, testing, and propellant loading operations. He has also been project manager and department manager for Space-craft Structures and Integration; head of the Mechanical Ground Support Equipment Section; and structural designer for meteorological satellites. Mr. Hawley also has worked as a design engineer for Rockwell International. He received a B.S. degree in aerospace engineering from the California State Polytechnic University.

JAMES K. KUCHAR is an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he has been on the faculty since 1995. His research interests are focused on safety-critical decision aiding and alerting systems, risk assessment, advanced cock-pit displays, air traffic control, and flight simulation. He has performed several risk assessment studies of instrument approaches to closely spaced parallel runways for NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Draper Laboratory. These studies developed methods to estimate risk during parallel approaches and provided system design guidelines to balance risks against landing capacity. He has also investigated policy issues related to air traffic and space launch operations. For his work on alerting systems, Dr. Kuchar was awarded the RTCA William E. Jackson Award and the Council for University Transportation Centers’ Wootan/ Pikarsky Award in 1995. He received his S.B., S.M., and Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT, where his work focused on terrain displays for transport aircraft. Dr. Kuchar is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and he is a private pilot. Dr. Kuchar currently teaches courses on estimation, numerical methods, flight simulation, and decision aiding and alerting systems.

JOYCE A. McDEVITT is a program manager with Futron Corporation, Washington, D.C., where she provides range safety and system safety support to government and commercial clients. She is currently supporting the Commercial Space Transportation Licensing and Safety Division of the Federal Aviation Administration. Ms. McDevitt has more than 30 years of experience in safety involving space, aeronautical, facility, and weapons systems, including propellant, explosive, and chemical processes. She has developed and managed safety programs, hazard analyses, safety risk assessments, safety policies and procedures, investigations of mishaps, and safety training. She retired from the federal government in 1987 after working for NASA Headquarters, Air Force Systems Command, and the Naval Ordnance

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographies of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2000. Streamlining Space Launch Range Safety. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9790.
×

Station. Ms. McDevitt received a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of New Hampshire and an M.S. in engineering from Catholic University. She is a registered professional engineer in safety engineering and an active member of the System Safety Society.

JOSEPH MELTZER, currently a system engineering and planning consultant for Space and Missile Systems, retired in September 1997 as corporate chief engineer of the Aerospace Corporation. In this position, he was responsible for systems engineering policies and practices, cross-program engineering, integrated weapons systems management, and product development systems, as well as acquisition process improvements, such as risk management, safety, security systems, readiness reviews, failure analysis, and launch certification. The Aerospace Corporation is a nonprofit, federally funded research and development center that provides general systems engineering support to the Air Force and other government space-related programs. Since joining Aerospace in 1963, Dr. Meltzer has held positions of increasing responsibility, including director of spacecraft programs and general manager of the Eastern Technical Division, which was located in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the Aerospace Corporation, he worked on missile systems for Hughes Aircraft Company, on missile systems and reentry vehicles for Lockheed Aircraft Company, and on spacecraft propulsion systems for Giannini Scientific Corporation. Dr. Meltzer earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles.

JIMMEY MORRELL has more than 30 years of experience in a wide range of technical, management, and administrative activities. After retiring from the U.S. Air Force, Maj Gen Morrell became senior vice president and director of the Decision Technologies Division at GRC International, Inc., where he managed Air Force space and classified business activities. As an Air Force officer, Maj Gen Morrell served as a senior policy analyst at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, assistant chief of staff of the Air Force Air University, commander of an Air Force satellite control wing, and commander of the 45th Space Wing at Cape Canaveral Air Station. Maj Gen Morrell was also a congressional liaison for the Air Force Office of Space Systems and the military assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force.

NORMAN H. SCHUTZBERGER is the director of the Fluid Mechanical and Propulsion Division of TRW Components International, which engineers and supplies systems, subsystems, and components to international commercial and manned space flight system manufacturers. Mr. Schutzberger earned his B.Sc. degree in mechanical engineering from Pratt Institute and an Executive M.B.A. from the Peter F. Drucker Graduate Management Center of the Claremont Graduate University. He began his career as an engineering co-op student in optics at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. After graduation from Pratt Institute, he moved into an advanced spacecraft design and analysis branch at NASA, where he analyzed early designs for the Space Telescope and Earth Observing System Satellites. Subsequent positions included resident mechanical systems manager for the Delta Launch Vehicle and Space Shuttle Upper Stages, where his responsibilities included mechanical, hydraulic, and payload attachment structures and mechanisms, as well as ordnance ignition, separation, and launch range safety flight termination systems. Mr. Schutzberger has been involved in the direction, integration, and launch of 85 international, commercial, and scientific satellites. He has been an internal consultant to NASA flight programs, NASA’s representative on commercial satellite failure review boards, and an invited consultant to Lloyd’s for assessing satellite launch risks.

FREDERICK H. HAUCK, Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board liaison to the Committee on Space Launch Range Safety, is president and chief executive officer of AXA Space, Bethesda, Maryland. AXA Space, a member of the global AXA insurance group, specializes in underwriting the risk of launching and operating space systems. Before joining AXA Space in 1990, Mr. Hauck completed a 28-year career in the U.S. Navy as a combat pilot, test pilot, and astronaut. His last military assignment was director of Navy Space Systems in the Pentagon. During his 11 years as a NASA astronaut, he flew on three space shuttle missions, the last as commander of Discovery on the first space shuttle mission after the Challenger tragedy. Mr. Hauck received a B.S. in physics from Tufts University and an M.S. in nuclear engineering from MIT. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Tufts University and of the American Astronautical Society and a fellow of both the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Mr. Hauck was awarded two Defense Distinguished Service Medals, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the Distinguished Flying Cross. He has been a member or chair of numerous panels and advisory groups on national and international space issues.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographies of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2000. Streamlining Space Launch Range Safety. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9790.
×
Page 46
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographies of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2000. Streamlining Space Launch Range Safety. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9790.
×
Page 47
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographies of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2000. Streamlining Space Launch Range Safety. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9790.
×
Page 48
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The U.S. space program is rapidly changing from an activity driven by federal government launches to one driven by commercial launches. In 1997, for the first time commercial launches outnumbered government launches at the Eastern Range (ER), located at Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida. Commercial activity is also increasing at the Western Range (WR), located at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The government itself is emulating commercial customers, shifting from direct management of launch programs to the purchase of space launch services from U.S. commercial launch companies in an open, competitive market.

The fundamental goal of the U.S. space program is to ensure safe, reliable, and affordable access to space. Despite the inherent danger of space launches, the U.S. space program has demonstrated its ability to protect the public. No launch site worker or member of the general public has been killed or seriously injured in any of the 4,600 launches conducted at the ER and WR during the entire 50-year history of the space age.

Streamlining Space Launch Range Safety discusses whether range safety processes can be made more efficient and less costly without compromising public safety. This report presents six primary recommendations, which address risk management, Africa gates, roles and responsibilities, range safety documentation [EWR 127-1]), global positioning system (GPS) receiver tracking systems, and risk standards for aircraft and ships.

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