NASA Names Exploration Project Directors
NASA selected Garry M. Lyles as Deputy Director of
Project Constellation and Charles J. Precourt as Program
Director of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV).
“I am very excited about the addition of these two excellent
managers to the Office of Exploration Systems’ team,” said
Craig Steidle, Associate Administrator for the Office of
Exploration Systems. “Their experience and skills will be
critical as we begin developing plans for extending human
presence to the moon by 2015,” he added.
As the Deputy Director of Project Constellation, Lyles is
responsible for the development of all exploration
transportation and support systems needed to achieve the
Vision for Space Exploration. That includes returning to the
moon and then on to Mars.
Lyles was the manager of NASA’s Next Generation Launch
Technology program at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC),
Huntsville, Ala. He was responsible for leading efforts to
develop technologies for safe access to space.
Lyles previously managed the Advanced Space Transportation
Program at MSFC. He was responsible for developing NASA’s
space transportation and propulsion “roadmaps” for the next 25
years. Since coming to NASA in 1976, Lyles had several
propulsion related positions at MSFC, including chief engineer
for the Space Shuttle Main Engine; chief of the Canoga Park
Resident Office for the Space Shuttle Main Engine Project
Office; and division chief of the Propulsion Systems Division
of the MSFC Propulsion Laboratory.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at
the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Precourt is responsible for developing the CEV. It is NASA’s
first human exploratory spacecraft since Apollo. The CEV will
carry astronauts to the moon as early as 2015.
Before his appointment to headquarters, Precourt was the
Deputy Manager of the International Space Station Program at
NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston. He was responsible for
the day-to-day management of Space Station operations, on
orbit assembly, interfaces with NASA contractors and
international partners.
Precourt became an astronaut in 1991. He is a veteran of four
space flights, logging more than 932 hours in space. He was
Director of Operations for NASA at the Gagarin Cosmonaut
Training Center, Star City, Russia. As Chief of the Astronaut
Corps, he was responsible for mission preparation for Space
Shuttle and International Space Station crews and their
support personnel.
Precourt received a bachelor’s of science degree in
aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy,
Colorado Springs, Colo. He received his master’s of science
degree in engineering management from Golden Gate University,
San Francisco, and a master’s of arts degree in national
security affairs and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War
College, Newport, R.I.
For more information about NASA on the Internet, visit:
