Courtney Stadd

Last updated

Courtney Stadd (born October 1954) [1] was President George W. Bush's transition team's director regarding the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during 2000 and 2001. He left NASA in 2003 to return to Capitol Solutions, a management consulting firm with aerospace clients seeking government contracts. [2]

Contents

In 2009 Stadd was convicted for both using his government job at NASA to serve his own financial interests and also for making false statements to investigators, and served three years in prison during the aftermath. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Professional background

Stadd spent more than thirty-five years in the public and private aerospace sectors where he primarily helped draft and implement federal policies and regulations to create new commercial space industries – including launch services, satellite imagery, Global Positioning Satellites, spaceports. In the latter sector, he worked with various ventures in these various industries. Between 1977 and 1980, he was General Manager of the National Space Institute (renamed National Space Society), co-founded by Wernher von Braun, and focused on educating the American public on space exploration. [7]

In 1979, he was managing editor, Space Humanization Review, a scholarly journal devoted to the interdisciplinary study of human settlements of outer space. [8]

During the early 1980s, he worked with several nascent commercial space ventures, including StarStruck, Inc. (renamed American Rocket Company). He obtained one of the first federal government approvals for a commercial rocket. Stadd also helped organize a coalition to support the 1984 Commercial Space Launch Act that established the U.S. Department of Transportation as the lead licensing agency for the commercial launch industry. [9]

In the mid-1980s, he was appointed as Special Assistant for Space Commercialization, within the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Stadd was helped promote the emergence of a U.S. commercial rocket industry. This culminated in the 1986 Presidential Space Policy Directive that directed that NASA’s Space Shuttle no longer launch satellite missions that do not require human intervention. [10]

Stadd was then appointed as Director of the Office of Commercial Space Transportation within the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT). In that capacity, he issued the first set of regulations implementing the 1984 Commercial Space Launch Act, as well as issuing the first license for an American commercial rocket. [11]

From 1989-1992, he was Senior Director, White House National Space Council, where he led inter-agency teams focused on drafting Presidential directives aimed at promoting space commercialization. [12]

Stadd received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 2001 for "his extraordinary vision, leadership, and dedication". [13]

After his stint at DoT, he formed a management consulting firm, Maryland-based Capitol Solutions, where he worked with a diverse array of small and large aerospace-related organizations. He went on to head the first term NASA transition team for George W. Bush. He was then named Chief of Staff and White House liaison and remained in that capacity through the Columbia accident (February 2003) and was involved in establishing a fund to support survivors of NASA officials who are killed in the line of duty. At the invitation of Administrator Michael D. Griffin, he went back to NASA HQ in a temporary advisory capacity (April–June 2005) where he helped to design a new career technical position, Associate Administrator, a new senior-level position in the Office of the Administrator. [14]

After leaving his advisory role, Stadd went on to become assistant executive producer for the PBS Television program, Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope, which was produced under the auspices of Tom Hanks’ Playtone and Herzog Productions. [15] It was shown on PBS in February 2013. [16]

Criminal felony convictions

In 2009, Stadd was convicted for both using his government job at NASA to serve his own financial interests and also for making false statements to investigators. The convictions involved directing funds to Mississippi State University, which was in turn a client of Stadd's consulting firm. Among other crimes, he signed an agreement while at NASA not to try and enrich personal clients but then he billed M.S.U. for his lobbying services on their behalf while he was at NASA. Despite his subsequent denials, a jury found him guilty during the first trial and he was sentenced to six months House Arrest. [17] Appeals efforts failed afterwards. [18] In a second trial, Stadd pleaded guilty for a second contract between NASA and MSU, in which he asked for a kickback to his usual fees. He was found guilty of conspiracy and was sentenced to 41 months in prison beginning in early 2011. [3] [4] [5] [6] Stadd was released on January 22, 2014. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space tourism</span> Human space travel for recreation

Space tourism is human space travel for recreational purposes. There are several different types of space tourism, including orbital, suborbital and lunar space tourism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Space Agency</span> Space agency of Canada

The Canadian Space Agency is the national space agency of Canada, established in 1990 by the Canadian Space Agency Act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rogers Commission Report</span> Government report on the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster

The Rogers Commission Report was written by a Presidential Commission charged with investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster during its 10th mission, STS-51-L. The report, released and submitted to President Ronald Reagan on June 9, 1986, both determined the cause of the disaster that took place 73 seconds after liftoff, and urged NASA to improve and install new safety features on the shuttles and in its organizational handling of future missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard A. Searfoss</span>

Richard Alan Searfoss was an American aviator who was United States Air Force colonel, NASA astronaut and test pilot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vision for Space Exploration</span> 2004 US human space exploration plan

The Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) was a plan for space exploration announced on January 14, 2004 by President George W. Bush. It was conceived as a response to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the state of human spaceflight at NASA, and as a way to regain public enthusiasm for space exploration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Private spaceflight</span> Spaceflight not paid for by a government agency

Private spaceflight refers to spaceflight developments that are not conducted by a government agency, such as NASA or ESA.

Lockheed Martin Space is one of the four major business divisions of Lockheed Martin. It has its headquarters in Littleton, Colorado, with additional sites in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Sunnyvale, California; Santa Cruz, California; Huntsville, Alabama; and elsewhere in the United States and United Kingdom. The division currently employs about 20,000 people, and its most notable products are commercial and military satellites, space probes, missile defense systems, NASA's Orion spacecraft, and the Space Shuttle external tank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael D. Griffin</span> American physicist and aerospace engineer (born 1949)

Michael Douglas Griffin is an American physicist and aerospace engineer who served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering from 2018 to 2020. He previously served as Deputy of Technology for the Strategic Defense Initiative, and as Administrator of NASA from April 13, 2005, to January 20, 2009. As NASA Administrator Griffin oversaw such areas as private spaceflight, future human spaceflight to Mars, and the fate of the Hubble telescope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soichi Noguchi</span> Japanese aeronautical engineer and JAXA astronaut

Soichi Noguchi is a Japanese aeronautical engineer and former JAXA astronaut. His first spaceflight was as a mission specialist aboard STS-114 on 26 July 2005 for NASA's first "return to flight" Space Shuttle mission after the Columbia disaster. He was also in space as part of the Soyuz TMA-17 crew and Expedition 22 to the International Space Station (ISS), returning to Earth on 2 June 2010. He is the sixth Japanese astronaut to fly in space, the fifth to fly on the Space Shuttle, and the first to fly on Crew Dragon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miles O'Brien (journalist)</span> American science journalist

Miles O'Brien is an independent American broadcast news journalist specializing in science, technology, and aerospace who has been serving as national science correspondent for PBS NewsHour since 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Houbolt</span> American aerospace engineer

John Cornelius Houbolt was an aerospace engineer credited with leading the team behind the lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) mission mode, a concept that was used to successfully land humans on the Moon and return them to Earth. This flight path was chosen for the Apollo program in July 1962. The critical decision to use LOR was viewed as vital to ensuring that man reached the Moon by the end of the decade as proposed by President John F. Kennedy. In the process, LOR saved time and billions of dollars by efficiently using the rocket and spacecraft technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boilerplate (spaceflight)</span> Nonfunctional spacecraft or payload

A boilerplate spacecraft, also known as a mass simulator, is a nonfunctional craft or payload that is used to test various configurations and basic size, load, and handling characteristics of rocket launch vehicles. It is far less expensive to build multiple, full-scale, non-functional boilerplate spacecraft than it is to develop the full system. In this way, boilerplate spacecraft allow components and aspects of cutting-edge aerospace projects to be tested while detailed contracts for the final project are being negotiated. These tests may be used to develop procedures for mating a spacecraft to its launch vehicle, emergency access and egress, maintenance support activities, and various transportation processes.

Criticism of the Space Shuttle program stemmed from claims that NASA's Space Shuttle program failed to achieve its promised cost and utility goals, as well as design, cost, management, and safety issues. Fundamentally, it failed in the goal of reducing the cost of space access. Space Shuttle incremental per-pound launch costs ultimately turned out to be considerably higher than those of expendable launchers. By 2011, the incremental cost per flight of the Space Shuttle was estimated at $450 million, or $18,000 per kilogram to low Earth orbit (LEO). In contrast, the comparable Proton launch vehicle is said to cost as little as $110 million, or around $5,000 per kilogram to LEO, despite not being reusable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Mueller (engineer)</span> American electrical and aerospace engineer

George Edwin Mueller, was an American electrical engineer who was an associate administrator at NASA, heading the Office of Manned Space Flight from September 1963 until December 1969. Hailed as one of NASA's "most brilliant and fearless managers", he was instrumental in introducing the all-up testing philosophy for the Saturn V launch vehicle, which ensured the success of the Apollo program in landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth by the end of 1969. Mueller also played a key part in the design of Skylab, and championed the Space Shuttle's development, which earned him the nickname, "the father of the Space Shuttle."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael D. Leinbach</span> American aerospace and civil engineer

Michael D. Leinbach is an aerospace engineer who was the former Shuttle Launch Director at NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. He was responsible for activities in the overall shuttle launch countdown, including planning, policy, and execution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA</span> American space and aeronautics agency

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. Established in 1958, NASA succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the U.S. space development effort a distinctly civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science. NASA has since led most American space exploration, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968–1972 Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. NASA currently supports the International Space Station and oversees the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System for the crewed lunar Artemis program, the Commercial Crew spacecraft, and the planned Lunar Gateway space station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Space Council</span> Presidential advisory body focused on US space policy

The National Space Council is a body within the Executive Office of the President of the United States created in 1989 during the George H. W. Bush administration, disbanded in 1993, and reestablished in June 2017 by the Donald Trump administration. It is a modified version of the earlier National Aeronautics and Space Council (1958–1973).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livingston L. Holder Jr.</span>

Livingston L. Holder Jr. is a former USAF astronaut in the Manned Spaceflight Engineer Program during the mid-1980s. He was assigned to fly as a military payload specialist on the Space Shuttle, but could not fly in space due to the Challenger accident in 1986.

<i>Hail Columbia</i> (film) 1982 American film

Hail Columbia is a 1982 American IMAX documentary film about NASA's Space Shuttle program, particularly the first Space Shuttle, Columbia. The film was directed by Graeme Ferguson.

References

  1. ↑ http://courtney-stadd.squarespace.com/
  2. ↑ "Former NASA Exploration Chief Gets Nod as Next NASA Administrator". Space.com. 11 March 2005. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Former NASA Chief of Staff Begins Jail Term". Space.com. 9 February 2011.
  4. 1 2 Ruoff, Alex (November 24, 2010). "Bethesda man sentenced for stealing from NASA; Former chief of staff sentenced for conspiracy". The Gazette. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Former NASA chief of staff pleads guilty to conspiracy charge". Government Executive. 23 August 2010.
  6. 1 2 "Ex-Nasa Official Guilty of Conspiracy". The New York Times. August 18, 2010.
  7. ↑ "The National Space Institute". nss.org. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  8. ↑ The Space Humanization Series: Institute for the Social Science Study of Space, T. Stephen Cheston, David C. Webb, Courtney A. Stadd: 9780934144018. ISBN   093414401X.
  9. ↑ "Reaching for the High Frontier: Chapter 12". nss.org.
  10. ↑ http://marshall.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/NSDD-254-U.S.-Space-Launch-Strategy-27-Dec-1986.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  11. ↑ "Launches". faa.gov. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  12. ↑ "courtney stadd - JSC History Portal Search Results". nasa.gov. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "Chief Of Staff Courtney Stadd Announces Plans To Leave Agency". NASA Newsroom. May 27, 2003. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  14. ↑ "NASA Strategic Management Handbook". nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2015-01-20.
  15. ↑ "Courtney A. Stadd". IMDb. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  16. ↑ "Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope". Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope - PBS. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  17. ↑ "U.S. Office of Government Ethics - LA-11-08: 2010 Conflict of Interest Prosecution Survey". usoge.gov. Archived from the original on 2012-12-14.
  18. ↑ https://www.courtlistener.com/cadc/24eu/united-states-v-courtney-stadd/ Archived 2011-03-07 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ↑ "Inmate Locator". bop.gov.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.