Crosslink Spring 2008 Contributors

A History of The Aerospace Corporation's Work in Missile Defense

Jon S. Bach, Senior Technical Editor, The Aerospace Press, works with Aerospace authors to produce books for copublication by The Aerospace Press and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He also assists with the oral history program and is working on a 50-year history of The Aerospace Corporation. Bach has a master's degree in writing from the University of Minnesota. He joined Aerospace in 2000 (jon.s.bach@aero.org).

Ballistic Missile Defense System Sensors and the Role of Space Systems

Scott J. Prouty, Principal Director for the Advanced Systems and Technology Subdivision of the Missile Defense Division, has supported Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, National Reconnaissance Office, and Missile Defense Agency programs—first as a member of the Engineering Technology Group, then from the responsible program office. Prouty joined Aerospace in 1988. He earned his M.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Minnesota (scott.j.prouty@aero.org).

The Missile Defense Agency's Space Tracking and Surveillance System

John Watson, Senior Project Leader, the Space Systems Evaluation Department, Systems Engineering Division, has more than four decades of experience in the space and aviation industry. He has worked almost continuously on missile defense systems since the Reagan speech of 1983 launching the Strategic Defense Initiative. His efforts in remote sensing applications and phenomenology have been applied to Space Based Interceptor, Brilliant Pebbles, advanced applications for SBIRS, and the original design of the Space Tracking and Surveillance System—Brilliant Eyes—as well as operational issues for the current version. Watson earned his master's degrees in geology from the California Institute of Technology and the University of Oklahoma. He is a retired naval reserve captain and is a naval aviator. Watson began working at Aerospace in 1987 and retired in 2007 (john.watson@aero.org).

Keith P. Zondervan, Associate General Manager, Missile Defense Space Systems, Space Systems Group, is responsible for developing, testing, and deploying space systems for the Missile Defense Agency's Ballistic Missile Defense System. These include the Space Tracking and Surveillance System, the Near-Field Infrared Experiment, and others projects. He joined Aerospace in 1979 as a member of the technical staff in the Performance Analysis Department. During his career, he has supported a variety of missile, launch vehicle, and spacecraft programs. He has a B.S. in engineering from Calvin College as well as an M.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in applied mechanics from the California Institute of Technology (keith.p.zondervan@aero.org).

Engineering and Integrating the Ballistic Missile Defense System

David S. Eccles, Principal Director, Systems Engineering and Integration, Missile Defense Division, leads the FFRDC/UARC consortium within the Systems Engineering and Integration Directorate at the Missile Defense Agency. Since joining Aerospace in 1983, he has supported systems engineering, architecture development, analysis, and simulation activities for a wide variety of space and missile defense systems. He has also supported computer-aided engineering and software engineering and development as well as command and control, battle management, and communications system development. He has an M.S. in civil engineering from Brigham Young University (david.s.eccles@aero.org).

Integrating the Global Enterprise of Ballistic Missile Defense

John J. Miller, System Director, Missile Defense Division, is the FFRDC/UARC lead engineer for engineering planning within the Command and Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) Directorate of the Missile Defense Agency. He has provided support to the C2BMC element of ballistic missile defense for the past ten years. Miller has an M.S. in mechanical engineering from Southern Methodist University and a Ph.D. in theoretical and applied mechanics from Cornell University. He has worked at Aerospace since 2004 (john.j.miller@aero.org).

Ballistic Missile Threat Modeling

John S. McLaughlin has been director of the International Launch Systems Office since 1995, providing foreign missile and space launch threat analysis for defense and intelligence community customers. McLaughlin joined Aerospace in 1983 and has performed flight controls analysis for both spacecraft and launch vehicle programs. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in engineering from UCLA (john.s.mclaughlin@aero.org).

Intelligence Support for Missile Defense

Alex B. Duque, Senior Project Engineer, Missile Defense Division, began working at Aerospace in 1986. He has been a technical advisor to the Air Force, Navy, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense on command, control, and communications systems. He is currently involved as a program manager and technical advisor to the Intelligence Requirements Division of the Missile Defense Agency. Duque has a bachelor's degree in systems engineering from UCLA and a master's degree from Pepperdine University (alex.b.duque@aero.org).

The Airborne Laser: Boost-Phase Missile Defense at the Speed of Light

James B. Thordahl is Systems Director of the Directed Energy Department of the Missile Defense Division. Since joining Aerospace in 1997, he has supported the Airborne Laser program in various capacities, including systems engineering, software architecture, and integration and test. He currently serves as the senior technical advisor for development and integration. He earned an M.S. in software management from The Air Force Institute of Technology and a B.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Notre Dame (james.b.thordahl@aero.org).

Ballistic Missile Defense System Testing

Joel D. Benson, Systems Director, Missile Defense Division, was the first Aerospace representative to serve on the Ballistic Missile Defense System Capability Assessment Team when it formed in 2004. This collaborative FFRDC/UARC effort provides an evaluation of capabilities and limitations of the fielded system to the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). Benson has led efforts evaluating the use of fiber optic gyros in exoatmospheric kill vehicles, the application of MIL-STD-1540 to those vehicles, analysis of SBIRS cueing on MDA radars, and the application of Aerospace launch-vehicle mission assurance practices to MDA interceptor and target vehicle launches. He has an M.S. in electrical engineering from Auburn University and has worked at Aerospace since 2003 (joel.d.benson@aero.org).

Jerry D. Rand, Senior Project Engineer, Missile Defense Division, began working at Aerospace in 2005. Rand previously worked with the Air Force as a space surveillance and space situational awareness expert, offering detailed analysis of space system acquisition programs. Rand is now working in Test Operations, Combined Test Force, the Missile Defense Agency, and is responsible for supporting Task Force E testing of the Ballistic Missile Defense System space layer. He began working at Aerospace in 2005. Rand earned his B.S. in earth science from the University of Arkansas, a second B.S. in meteorology from Pennsylvania State University, and an M.S. in systems management from the University of Southern California (jerry.d.rand@aero.org).

To Spring 2008 Table of Contents