Military
Given the size and importance
of the U.S. military space program -- and the relatively short tours of duty
that many of the top officers spend in space billets -- the list of people with
distinguished military careers in space is a long one. This list emphasizes
those who made their mark like former NRO deputy director James Hill by
delivering the space capabilities that many of the world’s military forces would
love to duplicate, and those who like Col. Pedro Rustan who challenged the way
things had always been done.
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Aldridge | |
Edward “Pete”
Aldridge -- Pete Aldridge served the aerospace industry from a variety
of vantage points over his long career — as a corporate executive, military
astronaut candidate, Secretary of the Air Force, director of the National
Reconnaissance Office (NRO), an arms control advisor and as the leader of
numerous commissions and panels. When Aldridge was Deputy Secretary of the Air
Force for Space in the early 1980s responsible for getting military spacecraft
launched, he made the critical decision to move away from reliance on the
shuttle fleet, a move that proved to be prescient when the Challenger accident
grounded the shuttle fleet for about three years. He chartered the Geiger-Kelly
study that suggested consolidating elements of the NRO under one roof. He also
served as undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics
from 2001 to 2003, during a time when space oversight was shifting from the
Office of the Secretary of Defense to the newly formed Air Force executive agent
for space. More recently, Aldridge chaired the moon to Mars commission. His
seven-year term as NRO director is the longest on record.
Amb. Henry Cooper
-- As director of the Strategic Defense Initiative from 1989 to 1992 during the
first Bush Administration, Cooper led the development of the technology needed
to implement the missile defense program that started during the Reagan
Administration. As chairman of High Frontier, an organization founded by former
CIA deputy director Lt. Gen. Daniel O. Graham to promote missile defense, Cooper
has remained a relentless advocate of effective missile defense, including
space-based defenses.
Robert Dickman --
The retired U.S. Air Force major general is known for getting down to business
and getting things done. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native is one of the Defense
Department’s trusted career space experts. As early as 1996, when he was serving
as the Defense Department’s national security space architect, Dickman unveiled
a blueprint for future military satellite communications that recommended buying
variants of commercial satellites for military use. That policy evolved to the
use of leased space on commercial satellites, which carried as much as 80
percent of DoD’s routine communications needs during the campaigns in
Afghanistan and Iraq.
Howell Estes --
Former-fighter-pilot-turned-space-advocate, Estes, as commander of U.S. Space
Command, helped change that organization’s mindset from technology development
to fighting wars. Estes, a charismatic and dynamic leader, worked hard to make
sure that every branch of service understood what the military’s space
capabilities were and what they could mean on the battlefield.
Martin Faga -- In
the early 1990s Faga directed the introduction of the NRO to the public -- its
very name was top secret -- by declassifying some of its activities so they
could be used more widely for tactical military needs as well as for the
intelligence community. The drive behind that decision was a desire to boost the
support the NRO could provide to the military’s tactical users.
Keith Hall -- When
Hall took over the NRO in 1997 he implemented quarterly financial reviews in
order to bring the secretive agency’s financial activities more into the
daylight. Hall also commissioned the Jeremiah report, which outlined a number of
changes needed to bring the agency into the 21st century. Hall also pressed
ahead with the oft-troubled Future Imagery Architecture and formed a contracting
structure that allowed industry to identify needed platforms for the
requirements rather than letting NRO dictate particular platforms.
Jeffrey Harris --
As director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from 1994 to 1996,
Harris began efforts to restructure the NRO and also laid the groundwork for the
development of a commercial remote sensing industry that would supplement the
work of American spy satellites. U.S. President Bill Clinton eventually adopted
that strategy when he signed a White House space policy directive that permitted
the commercial sale of remote sensing imagery with a ground resolution as small
as 1 meter. Harris was eventually forced to leave the NRO after members of the
U.S. Congress began criticizing the agency for hiding the fact that it had been
accumulating more than $3 billion in unspent program funds. He also was harshly
criticized for the construction of a new headquarters, begun during Faga’s
tenure, for the agency that many members of Congress lambasted as ostentatious
and a waste of taxpayers’ money. But his efforts on remote sensing helped create
a new industry.
Robert Hermann --
Hermann, who led the NRO from 1979 to 1981, chaired a panel in 1996 that
emphasized the utility and financial benefits of fielding fleets of small
satellites. The findings of the so-called Hermann Report later led to the Future
Imagery Architecture. He also led a charge to bring the National Security
Agency’s work into space and provide more support to tactical users.
Jimmie Hill --
Hill, who spent 14 of his 29 years at the NRO as its deputy director and two
stints as acting director, is considered the keeper of the agency’s corporate
knowledge and a key architect of its successful development and launch of the
nation’s most secret intelligence satellites. Like Harris, Hill took the fall
for the accounting scandals of the mid-1990s, but he remains highly regarded by
those inside and outside the agency. His legion of defenders say that during his
tenure as deputy director Hill was the primary architect of the national
security space launch program that shifted DoD from its reliance on the shuttle
following the Challenger accident. Loyalty to Hill, who still consults for NRO,
is strong. A couple of years after being forced to step down as deputy director,
Hill received a lengthy and loud standing ovation when introduced at the Goddard
Memorial dinner, an annual affair in Washington attended by many in the national
security space community.
Charles “Chuck”
Horner -- The retired Air Force general became commander of U.S. Space
Command following his key role as director of air operations during Operation
Desert Storm. At Space Command, Horner began the effort to bridge the gap
between the air and space operations communities to capitalize on lessons he
learned during the Gulf War about the value space power.
William Perry --
When serving as the deputy defense secretary for U.S. President Bill Clinton,
Perry hosted a now-notorious dinner meeting that came to be known as “The Last
Supper.” He instructed aerospace and defense industry executives to begin
merging, which resulted in the consolidation of numerous space businesses.
Pedro “Pete”
Rustan -- The retired Air Force colonel proved with his management of
DoD’s Clementine mission that a satellite program could be run with a small
staff and tight cost and deadline controls. The Clementine spacecraft, which was
designed to test an optics payload for the Ballistic Missile Defense
Organization, was a small satellite that proved its effectiveness by providing
the first direct evidence that the lunar surface contains ice, a key element for
future exploration. As a private aerospace consultant, Rustan worked on
operational architectures for future Mars missions. If Mars operations prove to
be like fighting a war with an enormously extended supply line, Rustan’s logic
will be a key enabler. Rustan is now serving as NRO’s director of advanced
systems and technology.
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Teets | |
Peter B. Teets --
As director of NRO since December 2001, Teets has led an uphill fight to make
sure the United States can always get its military and intelligence spacecraft
into space. His policy of assured access has meant additional money to keep the
two U.S. launch services companies afloat following the collapse of the
commercial launch market in the late 1990s. The former president of Martin
Marietta Space Group also has tried to use additional funding to get the
troubled Future Imagery Architecture Program on track.
Pete Worden -- The
retired Air Force brigadier general is viewed by many as one of the Pentagon’s
real out-of-the box thinkers. Throughout his career he has championed the
use of space in innovative ways that could improve the U.S. military’s offensive
and defensive capabilities. Worden was the Space and Missile Systems Center’s
first development and transformation office director. He also was deeply
steeped in every phase of developing the Strategic Defense Initiative, including
efforts to negotiate about the project with foreign nations.
A. Thomas Young --
Young, a former president and CEO of Martin Marietta Corp., has played a key
role in recent years in the effort to reform the Pentagon’s acquisition
practices. He led the joint task force on Acquisition of National Security Space
Programs, which provided a thorough and tough assessment of the failings of Air
Force space programs. The task force has reconvened this year to determine how
well industry and the Air Force are responding.
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