Why Do We Want to Have a Space Program?

Presented on September 6, 2012, 3:30-4:30pm, 442 Guggenheim Building ; 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 ...