{"82321":{"#nid":"82321","#data":{"type":"news","title":"President Bush Taps Tech Alumnus To Lead Moon-Mars Commission","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEdward C. \u0022Pete\u0022 Aldridge Jr., a 1997 inductee into Georgia Tech\u0027s Engineering Hall of Fame, is to lead a new panel that will advise NASA administrators and President George W. Bush regarding future manned missions to the moon and Mars.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAldridge, who earned his master\u0027s degree in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech in 1962, was chosen this week to direct the Commission on the Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Policy, a new panel that will advise NASA on the long-term implementation of the president\u0027s new vision for space exploration.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPresident Bush outlined that new vision in a Jan. 14 speech, committing the United States to a long-term human and robotic program to explore the solar system, starting with a return to the moon that will ultimately enable future exploration of Mars and other destinations.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo ensure that NASA maintains a sense of focus and direction toward accomplishing this new mission, the president directed NASA Administrator Sean O\u0027Keefe to review all current space flight and exploration and direct them toward the president\u0027s new goals. He also announced his decision to form the Commission on the Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Policy.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPreviously, in March 2001, President Bush appointed Aldridge the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. Before that, Aldridge was chief executive officer of The Aerospace Corporation headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., between March 1992 and May 2001.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPrior to the Challenger disaster in 1986, Aldridge trained to be a payload specialist aboard the Space Shuttle. His mission was canceled, however, and he later was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to be Secretary of the Air Force between 1986 and 1988. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAldridge has held a variety of positions within the U.S. Department of Defense through the years, retiring in May 2003 but continuing as a special assistant to the Secretary of Defense. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award and the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHe earned his bachelor\u0027s degree from Texas A\u0026amp;M before pursuing his master\u0027s degree at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"A member of Georgia Tech\u0027s Engineering Hall of Fame is the new head of the Commission on the Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Policy, a panel that will advise President George W. Bush and NASA administrators on long-term plans for space exploration.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2004-02-11 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:02:02","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2004-01-21T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2004-01-21T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"82331":{"id":"82331","type":"image","title":"Edward C. \u0022Pete\u0022 Aldridge Jr.","body":null,"created":"1449178087","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:28:07","changed":"1475894698","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:58"}},"media_ids":["82331"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/news\/releases\/2004\/01\/images\/20040114-3_nasa3-515h.html","title":"VIDEO: President Announces Goal of Manned Missions to Moon, Mars"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/solarsystem\/explore_main.html","title":"FEATURE: A New Vision for NASA"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["matthew.nagel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}