Name J. Littles | ||
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Title Director of theMarshall Space Flight Center | ||
Dr. J. Wayne Littles (Space History Interviews)
Dr. Jerrol Wayne Littles (born 1939) was the eighth Director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center located in Huntsville, Alabama. He served as Director from February 3, 1996, to January 3, 1998.
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Early life
Littles was born in Moultrie, Georgia, in 1939.
Education
Early career
NASA career
Prior to his appointment as Center Director, Littles served as NASA Associate Administrator for the Office of Space Flight (1994-1996). Littles began his NASA career in 1967 when he worked as an engineer in Marshall's former Propulsion and Vehicle Engineering Directorate. He worked in various capacities at the Marshall Center, including Science Engineering Director (1988-1989) and Center Deputy Director (1989-1994) before transferring to NASA Headquarters in 1994, as Chief Engineer. Littles was involved in the redesign of the space shuttle booster rockets, blamed for the Challenger disaster in 1986.
During his two years as Center Director, Dr. Littles' administration was responsible for the space lab mission, the space science projects, alternative light-weight launch vehicles, and their engine development. He retired from NASA in 1998.
Littles is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.