Why Do We Want to Have a Space Program?

Griffin, Michael

Title:

Why Do We Want to Have a Space Program?

dc.contributor.author	Griffin, Michael	en_US
dc.contributor.corporatename	Georgia Institute of Technology. School of Aerospace Engineering	en_US
dc.contributor.corporatename	University of Alabama in Huntsville. Center for Systems Studies	en_US
dc.contributor.corporatename	University of Alabama in Huntsville. Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2012-09-19T14:36:37Z
dc.date.available	2012-09-19T14:36:37Z
dc.date.issued	2012-09-06
dc.description	Presented on September 6, 2012, 3:30-4:30pm, 442 Guggenheim Building	en_US
dc.description	Michael Griffin is the King-McDonald Eminent Scholar and Professor of Mechanical and Aerospae Engineering, and the Director of the Center for Systems Studies at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. From 2005-09 he was the Administrator of NASA. Prior to rejoining NASA, he was Space Department Head at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. He has also held numerous executive positions with industry, including President and Chief Operating Officer of In-Q-Tel, Chief Executive Officer of Magellan Systems, General Manager of Orbital Science Corporation's Space Systems Group, and Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer at Orbital. Mike's earlier career includes government service as both Chief Engineer and Associate Administrator for Exploration at NASA, and as the Deputy for Technology at the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization. Prior to joining SDIO in an executive capacity, he played a key role in conceiving and directing several "first of a kind" space tests in support of strategic defense research, development, and flight testing. These included the first space-to-space intercept of a ballistic missile in powered flight, the first broad-spectrum spaceborne reconnaissance of targets and decoys in midcourse flight, and the first space-to-ground reconnaissance of ballistic missiles during the boost phase. He also played a leading role in other space missions in earlier work at the JHU Applied Physics Laboratory, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Computer Science Corporation. Mike previously taught for thirteen years as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, the Johns Hopkins University, and George Washington University, offering courses in spacecraft design, applied mathematics, guidance and navigation, compressible flow, computational fluid dynamics, spacecraft attitude control, astrodynamics, and introductory aerospace engineering. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Maryland and California, and is the lead author of over two dozen technical papers and the textbook Space Vehicle Design. Griffin is member of the National Academy of Engineering and the International Academy of Astronautics, an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society, and a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, the AIAA Space Systems Medal and Goddard Astronautics Award, the National Space Club's Goddard Trophy, the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement, and the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest award which can be conferred on a non-government employee. Mike obtained his B.A. in Physics from the Johns Hopkins University, which he attended as the winner of a Maryland Senatorial Scholarship. He holds Master's degrees in Aerospace Science from Catholic University, Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California, Applied Physics from Johns Hopkins, Civil Engineering from George Washington University, and Business Administration from Loyola College of Maryland. He received his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland, and has been recognized with honorary doctoral degrees from Florida Southern College and the University of Notre Dame. Mike was born in 1949 in Aberdeen, Maryland. His hobbies include golf, flying, amateur radio, skiing and scuba diving. He is a Certified Flight Instructor with instrument and multi-engine ratings, and holds an Extra Class radio amateur license.	en_US
dc.description	Runtime: 62:07 minutes.	en_US
dc.description.abstract	For more than fifty years, the exploration and development of space by the United States could have been characterized, without much exaggeration, as “all government, all the time”. There were exceptions, notably with regard to the commercial communications satellite industry, but they were just that – exceptions. Despite the entreaties of many who argued for a more balanced policy environment designed to encourage the development of commercial space enterprises, space development remained essentially a government preserve. Now, at least where human spaceflight – always the most visible symbol of the American space program – is concerned, we are confronted with a policy environment that is almost diametrically opposed to this decades-old paradigm, and commercial space enterprises are in vigorous pursuit of defense and intelligence community markets as well. This lecture will explore the ramifications of such policy shifts, together with the rationale for maintaining a robust national space effort, even as much new space activity shifts toward commercial development.	en_US
dc.format.extent	62:07 minutes
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1853/44690
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.publisher	Georgia Institute of Technology	en_US
dc.relation.ispartofseries	School of Aerospace Engineering Gebhardt Distinguished Lecture Series	en_US
dc.subject	Space program	en_US
dc.subject	Space policy	en_US
dc.title	Why Do We Want to Have a Space Program?	en_US
dc.type	Moving Image
dc.type.genre	Lecture
dspace.entity.type	Publication
local.contributor.corporatename	Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering
local.contributor.corporatename	College of Engineering
local.relation.ispartofseries	Gebhardt Distinguished Lecture Series
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	a348b767-ea7e-4789-af1f-1f1d5925fb65
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	7c022d60-21d5-497c-b552-95e489a06569
relation.isSeriesOfPublication	1286d2a9-cbe3-4150-a488-935db8987428