The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has selected its Pioneer
Class of 2002 — three people who made significant and lasting
contributions to the discipline of national reconnaissance. The
three selectees are Dr. Vance Coffman, Mr. Lee Hammarstrom, and
retired Air Force Colonel Robert Paulson.
The new pioneers were honored in a ceremony today at NRO
headquarters where plaques will be permanently displayed in
their honor. They were selected by Under Secretary of the Air
Force and NRO Director Peter Teets based on recommendations
from a special selection board, and will join 50 pioneers
selected over the past two years.
Dr. Coffman led the development of a new satellite attitude
control capability needed to provide major improvements in
producing large quantities of geographically accurate,
highly-detailed maps from satellite-collected images. His
career in national reconnaissance spanned from 1971 to the
present.
Mr. Hammarstrom’s concepts and developments for satellite,
ground station, and processing systems greatly improved the
accuracy, timeliness, and volume of NRO ELINT products.
Hammarstrom was named Head of the NRO’s Technology Office
and the NRO’s Chief Scientist. His career in national
reconnaissance spanned from 1962-2002.
Colonel Paulson served as the Air Force Program Manager for a
multi-agency IMINT satellite system program. He successfully
led his program office and operations team through the
critical design, development, and testing of the system, and
developed its complex ground architecture. His career in
national reconnaissance spanned from 1982-1988.
