Kistler Elects George Mueller as Chairman of the Board

August 16/Satnews Daily/ — The Board of Directors of the Kistler Aerospace Corp. has elected Dr. George Mueller as Chairman of the Board. Dr. Mueller will also serve as Chief Vehicle Architect for Kistler's K-1 Reusable Launch Vehicle. In that role, Dr. Mueller will have primary responsibility for the technical aspects of completion of the K-1.

The Board also announced the appointment of Mr. Randolph H. Brinkley as Chief Executive Officer and Wilbur C. Trafton as President and Chief Operating Officer.
 

Dr. Mueller joined Kistler as CEO and a member of Kistler's Board of Directors in April 1995.

Dr. Mueller expressed confidence in the company's future and in the success of the K-1, which is now in the latter stages of development. Dr. Mueller also expressed pleasure with the selection of Randy Brinkley as the CEO and Will Trafton as COO.

Prior to joining Kistler, Brinkley was President of Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) and before that was Senior Vice President of Programs for Hughes Space and Communications (HSC). Before moving to HSC in 1999, Brinkley was the NASA Program Manager for the International Space Station (ISS) from 1994 until 1999. While at NASA¸ Brinkley was responsible for integration of Russia's participation in the ISS Program and the successful on-orbit assembly of the first elements of the ISS. Before his assignment as Program Manager for the ISS, Mr. Brinkley was Mission Director of the Hubble Space Telescope Repair Mission in 1994.

Following the announcement by Kistler's Board of Directors, Brinkley said he has worked closely with Kistler's team over the past several months, and assessed Kistler's technology and business potential for myself. “I completely agree with Dr. Mueller's confidence in the K-1 and believe in the company's ability to meet America's need for a reliable and cost-efficient reusable launch vehicle,” he said.