The Air Force Association announced today the appointment of Norman R. Augustine as the first-ever chair of the newly forming StellarXplorers Board of Advisors. Augustine served as Under Secretary of the Army and Acting Secretary of the Army, and is a former Chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin. Later, he served as chairman and principal officer of the American Red Cross, chairman of the National Academy of Engineering, president and chairman of the Association of the United States Army, chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association, and chairman of the Defense Science Board. Augustine has been presented the National Medal of Technology and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Distinguished Public Service Award. He has been awarded the Department of Defense’s highest civilian decoration five times and holds 35 honorary degrees. In 2009, Augustine was named chairman of the Review of United States Human Space Flight Plans Committee, tasked to review NASA’s plans for the Moon, Mars and beyond.
“It’s an honor to have the support of someone of Mr. Augustine’s stature,” said Gerald Murray, AFA’s Chairman of the Board and the 14th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. “His global reputation as a visionary leader in science, technology and space are a perfect fit and inspiration for our growing national program. We are grateful to welcome him to this important role.” “The Air Force Association’s StellarXplorers program, now in its lift-off phase, offers a truly exciting means of inspiring and preparing young people to pursue careers in science and engineering,” said Mr. Augustine. “It does this through a proven series of competitions that teach leadership as well as the fundamentals of space technology. I am truly honored to be associated with an endeavor so important to our nation’s future and for which not even the sky is the limit.”
StellarXplorers, the National High School Space Challenge, is an education initiative established by AFA to be a challenging, space system design competition involving all aspects of system development and operation with a spacecraft and payload focus. The engineering competition is designed to inspire students toward futures in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The National High School Space Challenge invites teams of students across the country to use space systems engineering principles to solve a problem remotely through four rounds of competition. Students involved in any youth organization – including high schools, Boys & Girls Clubs, scouting units, and home-school students – may participate. Winners receive an all-expense-paid trip to the National Finals each spring.
About AFA: The Air Force Association is a non-profit, independent, professional military and aerospace education association. Our mission is to promote dominant U.S. Air and Space Forces as the foundation of a strong National Defense; to honor and support our Airmen, Space Force Professionals, and their Families; and to remember and respect our enduring Heritage.
