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Wednesday Nov. 10
4:00-5:00pm
22 Deike Bldg.
University Park, PA |
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This event is being sponsored by the Penn State Student Branch of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and by the Central Pennsylvania professional section of AIAA, and the Penn State Department of Aerospace Engineering. It is free and open to the public.
Early in the President Obama’s term of office, he established a “Blue Ribbon Panel” led by Norm Augustine, former CEO of Lockheed Martin, to assess the future direction of the NASA Program. This is familiar territory for Mr. Augustine, whose 1990 Panel dealt with similar issues to those that now face NASA. President Obama named Maj Gen Charles Bolden, Administrator of NASA.
In President Obama’s FY2011 Budget submitted to Congress, NASA’s Constellation Program was Cancelled. Senator Bill Nelson, D-FL and Chairman of the Science and Space Subcommittee reminded Administrator Bolden in a hearing concerning the NASA FY2011 Budget Submittal, “the President Proposes and the Congress Disposes”. It is hopeful that the Congress will take action to mitigate the drastic proposal of this administration. In the NASA Authorization Bill for FY 2011, Congress has authorized: continuation of the Space Station through 2020, Human trips to Asteroids by 2025, and sending humans to Mars' Orbit by the 2030s. While the Congressional Authorization Bill for FY 2011 is encouraging, the major hurdle remains to see what actual funding is appropriated by the Congressional Appropriation Committees.
The private sector’s success in space flight operations following the X-Prize proves that they can take up the challenge. Sir Richard Branson seized on Scaled Composites success and formed “Virgin Galactic”, a privately owned firm that will use the Paul Allen/ Burt Rutan technology of WhiteKnightOne and SpaceShipOne to produce an upgraded version that can accommodate a crew of two and six passengers for five minutes of “zero g” and viewing the earth from an entirely new perspective. Development of the Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShip 2 and White Knight 2 is proceeding toward the initial commercial operation in 2011.
SpaceX has conducted its first successful launch of its Falcon 9 vehicle and is on track to provide NASA with crew and cargo transportation to and from the International Space Station (ISS). If the private sector can achieve the capability to get passengers to low Earth Orbit, particularly to the ISS, NASA can once again pursue the goal of human Space Exploration beyond Low Earth orbit.
Biography of Gene Austin
Following his retirement from NASA, after a career of nearly 42 years, Gene
and his wife (Judith) formed a company, GJ Systems, Inc. The purpose of the
company is to provide Systems Consulting and Seminars in the area of Space
Transportation. During the period following his retirement, Gene has consulted
with NASA on the National Launch System, Human Mars Mission approaches,
and the ARES Launch Vehicle Program, He was also a regular contributor to the
NASA Business Education Program since the X-33 was a key element in NASA’s Business Development
approach of the pre-2000 time frame.
Gene’s position prior to his retirement from NASA was the NASA X-33 Program Manager. He located
his Program Office at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, CA, where the design and
development effort took place. The X-33 Program was a unique new approach in development of Space
Programs by NASA. It was a Partnership between NASA and Industry. The X-33 Program had as its
primary goal, to demonstrate the technologies necessary to reach a decision to commercially develop and
operate a Single Stage to Orbit Reusable Launch Vehicle. Gene was elected to the rank of AIAA Associate
Fellow in May 1989 and has served on the AIAA Electric Propulsion and Space Transportation Technical
Committees.
Other key positions during his career include: Director of the Space Transportation and Exploration
Office, Deputy Director of the Advanced Transportation Technologies Office and Manager of the
Aeroassist Flight Experiment Project at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
He also served as Director of the Advanced Transportation Branch of the NASA Headquarters Office
of Space Flight in Washington, DC. His assignment in 1993 as NASA lead of the Advanced Technology
Team of NASA’s Access to Space Study, led to establishment of the agency’s goal toward the development
of an operational Single Stage To Orbit. As a result of that goal, and working with the DoD and the White
House Office of Science and Technology Policy, NASA was then assigned the responsibility for Reusable
Launch Vehicle technology development and demonstration in the Administration’s August 1994
National Space Transportation Policy.
He received a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Auburn University in 1963. Mr. Austin
did graduate studies in Engineering Mechanics at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Background
After graduation from Auburn University, he returned to the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
(MSFC) where he had participated in the Cooperative Education Program during his college years. He
served in progressively increasing job responsibilities over his career at MSFC from a specialist who
performed theoretical investigations in mission analysis and conceptual designs of nuclear rocket systems
to his present assignment.
Some of the key assignments in his career include:
• Director, Space Transportation and Exploration Office within Program Development at MSFC
• Acting Chief, Advanced Development Branch within Advanced Programs of the Office of Space
Flight, NASA Headquarters;
• Served on the NASA Headquarters negotiation team leading to the Agreement between NASA and
Orbital Sciences Corporation for the commercial development of the Transfer Orbit Stage;
• Chief of MSFC’s Space Transportation Group within Program Development;
• Manager of the Aeroassist Flight Experiment Project;
• Deputy Manager, Space Transportation Study Team;
• Acting Chief, Advanced Transportation Branch in the NASA Headquarters Office of Space Flight’s
Advanced Program Development Division;
• Chairman, NASA Advanced Technology Option Team of the NASA Access to Space Study.
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