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Broomfield, Colo., Aug. 12/Satnews Daily/ —
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has named William F. Townsend as
vice president and general manager of civil space systems. Townsend is
expected to guide the company's NASA and NOAA programs to successful delivery.
Ball Aerospace currently has many missions in various stages of
completion including Deep Impact, Cloudsat, CALIPSO, HiRISE, Kepler and
the optical subsystem for the James Webb Space Telescope.
David L. Taylor, president and CEO of Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.,
said Townsend’s proven track record at successfully executing complex
programs strengthens Ball Aerospace's ability to deliver outstanding space
systems to our customers. “He will work to ensure that the spacecraft
and instruments we deliver to NASA and NOAA meet mission cost, schedule
and quality requirements," Taylor added.
Prior to joining Ball Aerospace, Townsend had a distinguished 40-year
career with NASA, most recently at Goddard Space Flight Center. At
Goddard, he shared responsibility for executive leadership and
management of the Center and all its programs as Deputy Director. Prior
to that position, Townsend served as Deputy Associate Administrator
(Programs) for the NASA's Office of Earth Science, where he directed
earth science flight programs. He was also acting Associate
Administrator for the Earth Science Enterprise. He was responsible for
numerous successful programs during his NASA career, including the
SeaSat Radar Altimeter and TOPEX/Poseidon missions. In total, Townsend
has been associated with 59 missions.
Townsend's accomplishments have been recognized with numerous awards
including the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the Presidential Rank
Award of Meritorious Executive, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and
the French Space Agency's Bronze Medal. Townsend holds an electrical
engineering degree with honors from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. |
