On January 1, 2008, Wanda M. Austin will succeed William F. Ballhaus, Jr., as president and CEO of Aerospace Corporation. The 19-member board of trustees, including Guion S. Bluford Jr., the first black astronaut and 1991 Black Engineer of the Year, selected Austin after a nationwide search.
In making the announcement, Ballhaus stated: “Wanda’s knowledge of the company and the programs it supports will make this a seamless transition.” Austin is internationally recognized for her work in satellite and payload system acquisition, systems engineering and system simulation.
Austin currently serves as the senior vice president of Aerospace Corporation’s National System Group in Chantilly, VA. The National Systems Group supports national security space and the intelligence community in the acquisition, launch and orbital operation of advanced technology space systems and their ground data stations. She assumed this position on April 1, 2004.
Before joining Aerospace in1979, Austin was a member of the technical staff at Rockwell International. She joined Aerospace Corporation as a member of the technical staff and was appointed a senior vice president in 2004. Previously, from 2001-2003, she directed a group 1,000 engineers and scientists working in a range of space-related disciplines.
Before that she was general manager of MILSATCOM, Military Satellite Communications, where she was responsible for systems engineering support to the Air Force.
Austin earned a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics from Franklin and Marshall College, master’s degrees in systems engineering and mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh, and a PhD in systems engineering from the University of Southern California.
Dr. Austin is a member of the NASA Advisory Council and is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She also is a member of the board of trustees of the International Academy of Astronautics.
The Aerospace Corporation has provided independent technical and scientific research, development, and advisory services to national-security space programs since 1960. They operate a federally funded research and development center for the US Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office and support all national-security space programs.
