Biography: Steve is manager of the Ares Projects Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Named to the position in September 2005, Steve is responsible for overall project management and direction of NASA’s Ares I crew launch vehicle, which will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle into space and deliver uncrewed cargo payloads to space – key to the Vision for Space Exploration. The office is responsible for the overall integration of the launch vehicle system, and development of a first stage derived from the current space shuttle booster and motor elements and a new upper stage powered by a J-2X main engine.

Prior to his appointment as director of the Ares Project Office, Steve served as deputy manager of Marshall’s Space Transportation Programs and Projects Office. He was responsible for planning and directing research, technology and development activities for future generations of space transportation and advanced propulsion systems for more ambitious scientific exploration missions of our solar system. From 1998 to 2004, Steve was deputy manager of the Next Generation Launch Technology/Advanced Space Transportation Programs at the Marshall Center. From 1990 to 1998, Steve served in a variety of leadership positions at Marshall in the area of advanced space transportation research and technology development, including deputy manager of the X-33 Flight Vehicle Program and interim manager of the Delta Clipper-Experimental Advanced Flight Vehicle Project, or DC-XA -- a single-stage-to orbit launch vehicle first tested by NASA in 1995.

Steve has received numerous honors and awards during his NASA career, including a NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 2007 for his exemplary management of the Ares Project Office, along with a NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 2006 for outstanding efforts as a member of the Exploration Systems Architecture Study. Steve has authored 12 papers on advanced space propulsion and launch systems and was a contributing author of the 1997 McGraw Hill Aerospace Yearbook. He holds a B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics from the University of Minnesota. Steve, his wife Marqueta and their two children, Catherine and Charles, reside in Athens, Alabama.

Presentation Title: The Ares Projects Office: Building an Exploration Culture from the Inside Up

Abstract: NASA is building its first new human-rated space exploration vehicles in nearly 40 years. This marks an important operational and cultural change from the Space Shuttle. In the wake of the Columbia disaster, the agency and the nation realized that NASA’s goals and culture needed to change. The Ares Projects Office (APO), which is building the launch vehicles that will power human beings to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, is taking a page from the Saturn playbook by having NASA lead both the overall integration and the development of the Ares I upper stage. APO is also creating a new culture of cooperation, openness, and informed risk taking as we set our sights on other worlds.

APO has established a team environment where issues can be discussed, information is shared, fun and teamwork are encouraged, and constructive conflict and accountability are expected. Following a “One NASA” philosophy, APO is taking steps to strengthen cooperation among space centers, contractor partners, engineering and scientific communities, and headquarters personnel. As we learn lessons from things that went wrong with the Space Shuttle, we are also borrowing best practices from what has gone right with that program and others. All of these cultural elements will be necessary as we take the next steps beyond Earth orbit.