RELEASE
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09-013
Kossuth, Miss., Native Reginald Alexander Helping NASA Get Back to the Moon and Continue Missions Far Into the Future
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Reginald Alexander is helping design the next-generation of launch vehicles that will make NASA's dream of returning to the moon and exploring the unknowns of the solar system a reality.
Alexander, a native of Kossuth, Miss., has been manager of the Advanced Concepts Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville since 2007. He helps to design and determine the size and cost of new spacecraft, their launch vehicles and engines. Two of his main projects are the Ares V heavy cargo launch vehicle and the Altair lander -- intended to take America back to the moon in 2020 and to other destinations in the solar system. The Ares V will serve as NASA’s primary vessel for safe, reliable delivery of large-scale hardware to space -- from the Altair lunar landing craft and materials for establishing a moon base, to food, fresh water and other staples needed to extend a human presence beyond Earth's orbit.
Alexander is also heavily involved in human lunar lander work and lunar robotic missions. "I would like to start looking at those things that we can do once we are settled on the moon," he said, "in terms of science, building a base and what humans can do in those areas."
He's also focused on development of a spacecraft – planned to launch between 2016 and 2018 -- that will collect and return lunar samples to Earth for research purposes. Additionally, he is helping design a satellite that will characterize and study large asteroids and meteors and provide data to help scientists find solutions to divert the objects from getting too close or impacting Earth. The satellite is targeted for orbit by 2020.
To prepare a new work force in building spacecraft and satellites that will be ready 20 to 30 years down the road, Alexander mentors engineering students at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He encourages their understanding of the concept and design work he and others perform in the “real world” of NASA space exploration.
Encouraging and mentoring students is something that's deeply personal to Alexander. He was the first in his family to finish college. “What made me decide to go was simply desire and opportunity,” he said. “Many doors have been opened to me due to the skills I obtained in school."
Alexander earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Mississippi State University in Starkville in 1989. He began his career with NASA in 1990 as a thermal analyst. “Once I started my job at Marshall, I realized what an honor it was to become a part of a great legacy of engineers that have put men on the moon, developed the space shuttle and plan the future of space transportation.”
He has held several key engineering positions, including propulsion system lead for NASA’s X-37 -- an advanced technology flight demonstrator. He was lead systems engineer for the Crew Transfer Vehicle – a spacecraft capable of carrying crew to the International Space Station. While working, Alexander earned a master's degree in aerospace engineering in 1998 from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Alexander hopes his education and career experience will help keep NASA’s projects going far into the future. “Some of NASA’s missions will build lunar bases and planetary systems 20, and even 50 years down the road,” he said. “It's important that my team is involved at the early stages and make sure the proper planning and, more importantly, funding is in place to be able to move our ideas forward for the benefit of science and discovery.”
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