Former director of Johnson Space Center now at Rice

CONTACT: B.J. Almond
PHONE:
(713) 348-6770
EMAIL: balmond@rice.edu

FORMER DIRECTOR OF
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER NOW AT RICE
George Abbey, on assignment from NASA,
is working on space policy with Rice’s Baker Institute

George W.S. Abbey,
former director of the Johnson Space Center (JSC), has joined the James A. Baker
III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, where he will guide space
policy efforts related to the World Space Congress being held in Houston this
fall. He is on assignment from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) in Washington, D.C., where he is special assistant to the administrator.

Abbey, who was appointed
a senior fellow at the Baker Institute this month, will work at the interfaces
of space history and policy, putting together activities of the World Space
Congress 2002, which will be held in Houston and at Rice Oct. 11-13. As part of
the World Space Congress, a policy summit will be held in cooperation with the
Baker Institute and the Rice Space Institute.

“The purpose of the
World Space Congress Policy Summit is to encourage the formulation of a common
vision and implementation strategy for commercial and civil scientific and
technical space-based initiatives,” said Edward Djerejian, director of the Baker
Institute. “George Abbey’s background is ideal for this endeavor. His skills,
knowledge and leadership will help industry, government and academia collaborate
on new policies and projects designed to increase commercial activities in
space.”

“This is a real
opportunity for us,” said Eugene Levy, provost of Rice. “George Abbey has been
in the space program since the beginning and has risen to the top. Throughout
his career, and as director of the Johnson Space Center, he has played a key
role in the development of the space program, including the manned space
program, and the International Space Station. He is a treasure trove of policy
insight and historical understanding. It is a real asset to Rice to have
him.”

Abbey first worked at
the Johnson Space Center (formerly the Manned Spacecraft Center) in 1964 as a
U.S. Air Force officer. He became a permanent member of the staff in 1967 and
was technical assistant to the manager on the Apollo Spacecraft Program. His
subsequent posts included director of flight operations, in which he was
responsible for the overall direction and management of flight crew and flight
control activities for the manned space flight missions, including the early
operational flights of the Space Shuttle.

In 1988, Abbey was
appointed Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Flight at NASA headquarters
in Washington, D.C., and later he was appointed deputy for operations for the
synthesis group; senior director for civil space, National Space Council,
Executive Office of the President; deputy director of the Johnson Space Center;
and acting director of JSC. In 1996 he was named director of the Johnson Space
Center. In 2001, Abbey was assigned as senior assistant for international
issues, reporting to the administrator of NASA.

“I look forward to
capturing the knowledge of the space program and ensuring that it is passed on
to future generations and to the country’s public policy,” Abbey said. “I think
that the country’s space policy is probably an issue, and where we go in the
future relative to international cooperation in space is important to us and
could be a benefit to the country.

“Certainly being
involved with the Baker Institute and Rice is something I’m looking forward to,”
Abbey said. “The institute already has made a difference in many areas and I
hope that I will be able to help them as we address the country’s policies
relative to space.”