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Robert D. Richards, Founder and Chief Executive, Odyssey Moon Ltd.

In 2007, when Robert “Bob” Richards formed Odyssey Moon Ltd., the first entrant in the Google Lunar X Prize competition, financial markets were strong, investors were confident and NASA was committed to sending astronauts back to the Moon. All that changed, however, with the 2008 recession and subsequent election of U.S. President Barack Obama, who offered a new blueprint for space exploration. In spite of those dramatic shifts, the Odyssey Moon team led by Richards and based on the Isle of Man continues to persevere.

by Debra Werner
Posted inNews

Profile | Nicholas Johnson, NASA’s Chief Scientist for Orbital Debris

From his office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Nicholas Johnson oversees the space agency’s efforts to track the current status of orbital debris and predict the future. That work has attracted far more attention both nationally and internationally since January 2007, when China destroyed one of its own satellites during testing of an anti-satellite (A-Sat) weapon, and the February 2009 collision between a working Iridium telecommunications satellite and the retired Russian Cosmos 2251 spacecraft.

by Debra Werner
Posted inNews

David Davis, Systems Engineering Division Chief, U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center

For more than three decades, David Davis has worked at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) in El Segundo, Calif., rising through the ranks to become the Systems Engineering Division chief in 2005. In that role, he pays close attention to the health of the space industrial base, and in particular to the suppliers who provide raw materials and critical subcomponents for the Air Force’s missiles and GPS, surveillance and communications satellites.

by Debra Werner
Posted inNews

Andrea Seastrand, Executive Director, California Space Authority

As the state of California grapples with a $20 billion budget shortfall and Northrop Grumman Corp. prepares to move its headquarters from Los Angeles to Washington, the California Space Authority (CSA) faces the daunting task of trying to retain and expand space enterprise in the state that once housed most of the dominant players in the aerospace industry. While the job is not easy, the 11-member team that makes up Sacramento-based CSA continues to champion every accomplishment made by California’s space enterprise, which includes commercial, civil and national security space programs in industry, government and academia.

by Debra Werner
Posted inNews

Chris C. Kemp, Chief Information Officer, NASA Ames Research Center

Chris C. Kemp, a high-tech entrepreneur, was the chief architect of Classmates.com and founder of an online grocery shopping service before joining the NASA Ames Research Center as the director of strategic business development in 2006. In that role, he forged an alliance with Google Inc. to help disseminate NASA imagery and data through the search giant’s popular virtual globe, Google Earth.

by Debra Werner
Posted inNews

Robert Ellis, President, Wyle Integrated Science and Engineering Group

Wyle captured the spotlight this fall with the launch of its space station treadmill named for political satirist Stephen Colbert and a water analysis tool used by astronauts to ensure that the station’s recycled urine is, in fact, safe to drink. Both pieces of equipment were built by Wyle’s Integrated Science and Engineering Group based in Houston, but they show only one facet of the work going on there. Under various company names and owners, the group has been conducting life sciences research, supporting space medical programs and performing engineering work for NASA for more than 40 years.

by Debra Werner