Blog 3

We have learned of some very troubling news that we thought important to share with you. Two of our distinguished Trustees, Dr. Wang Jinnian and Dr. Wu Meirong, were assaulted, sustained injuries, and are currently in the hospital recovering from their injuries. Several media reports indicate that our colleagues were assaulted because they told their assailant that they would not support his becoming a member of our Academy. We have conveyed to Dr. Wang and Dr. Wu the Academy’s great sadness regarding their injuries, our best wishes for their speedy and full recovery, and our profound respect for their personal efforts to safeguard the integrity and stature of the International Academy of Astronautics. We are reminded that the International Academy of Astronautics is an independent, nongovernmental organization that is based in Paris, France and brings together the world’s foremost, eminent experts in Astronautics for the good of humanity. The Academy has members from 90 nations. It is an organization that fosters international cooperation and understanding. We deeply respect and value each of our Members. We find appalling and totally contradictory to the fundamental principles of the Academy any act of violence or intimidation directed toward any member of the Academy, in particular when it is related to their service as a Member of the International Academy of Astronautics. IAA membership consists of individuals who have distinguished themselves in one of the fields of astronautics or one of the branches of science of fundamental importance for the exploration of space. Election to the Academy is a recognition of an individual’s record of service and achievement, and members are leaders in space and aeronautical activities in their own countries. New members are elected by all full members of the Academy using a confidential peer review and voting process. Membership brings with it the commitment to work with fellow members for the betterment of humankind through the application of the art and science of astronautics.

IAA October meetings schedule (Updated 15 July 2021). Monday 11 October 2021 14h-16h (Paris time zone) Commission 5 (online meeting) 17h-19h (Paris time zone) Commission 1 (online meeting) Tuesday 12 October 2021 14h-16h (Paris time zone) Commission 4 (online meeting) 17h-19h (Paris time zone) Commission 3 (online meeting) Wednesday 13 October 2021 14h-16h (Paris time zone) Commission 2 (online meeting) 17h-19h (Paris time zone) Commission 6 (online meeting) Thursday 14 October 2021 14h00-15h00 (Paris time zone) IAA Publication & Communication Committee meeting (online meeting by invitation only) 16h00-17h00 (Paris time zone) Acta Astronautica IAA Journal Editorial Board (online meeting by invitation only) Monday 18 October 2021 17h00-19h00 (Paris time zone) IAA Scientific Activities Committee (SAC) meeting (online meeting by invitation only) Tuesday 19 October 2021 14h00-15h00 (Paris time zone) 31st Session Regular General Meeting (online meeting, Academicians only) Sunday 24 October 2021, Dubai, UAE 09h00-16h00 (Dubai time zone) IAA Academy Day (On line and face-to-face meeting)

Academician Peter B. Teets, former undersecretary and Acting Secretary of the Air Force, head of the National Reconnaissance Office, and president and chief operating officer of Lockheed Martin, died Nov. 29, 2020. Teets, reflecting in 2012 on his term as head of the NRO, said his vision was to “bring online a new generation of collection systems” with constellations that were “more capable, reliable, and user-friendly,” while building “a true spirit of teamwork” in the national security space community. He called the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS), meant to detect missile launches, “the most difficult challenge I had” in the NRO position. It was made more problematic, he said, by prime contractor Lockheed Martin assuring Congress the program “was ‘on schedule and on predicted cost,’ when in fact we had no chance of executing the contract with the resources then allocated.” Ultimately, much of the program was terminated. He believed the NRO made strides on his watch in “getting timely information to the warfighters” and improving relations with Congress. During his tenure, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld designated the Air Force the DOD’s executive agent for space. However, not long after Teets’ departure, and with no replacement named for the duration of the Bush Administration, Rumsfeld withdrew that authority to his own office. Teets grew up in Colorado and attended the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning degrees in applied mathematics and business administration, respectively. He worked for the Martin Company as an engineer, rising through the company over several decades as it expanded to become Martin Marietta Corporation. He was elected president of its Space Group in 1993, and soon after the company’s 1995 merger with Lockheed Martin, became president and COO of the new Lockheed Martin Corp. In 2001, Teets retired from Lockheed Martin and undertook the jobs of undersecretary of the Air Force and head of the National Reconnaissance Office, which at that time was a dual position under the administration of President George W. Bush. He reported not only to the Secretary of the Air Force but the Secretary of Defense and head of national intelligence. At the end of the first term of the Bush presidency, Teets served briefly as Acting Secretary of the Air Force after the resignation of Secretary James G. Roche. Teets himself resigned from the undersecretary/NRO job in March 1995. In retirement, Teets served on the boards of the Aerospace Corporation, Draper Laboratories, and Challenger Center of Colorado. He received AFA’s W. Stuart Symington Award in 1994, for the “greatest contribution to national defense by a civilian,” and received numerous other awards, including the Wernher von Braun Space Flight Trophy, the Robert Goddard Memorial Trophy, and the Gen. James V. Hartinger Award for contributions to military space. He was also inducted into the Colorado Space Heroes Hall of Fame. He was elected a Member of the International Academy of Astronautics in 1993.

Photo: IAA Academician Peter B. Teets, Member Engineering Sciences Section

Academician Alexander Degtyarev passed away on November 24, 2020. He was General Designer and General Director of Yuzhnoye Design Office, Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. He directly participated in the development of ballistic rocket systems, participated in the projects on Zenit, Cyclone, Dnepr, Mayak launch vehicles modernization and also conceptual projects on the development of commercial spacecraft and satellite systems. He directly participated in the formation of principal directions of works on creation and implementation of Sea Launch Project, managerial and functional structure of the company and contract plan of the project. He also opened a new field of Yuzhnoye’s activity, entering the international market and bringing in foreign partners as customers. Academician of National Academy of Science of Ukraine. Author of 38 inventions and more than 80 publications. He was elected a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics in 2002 and a Member in 2005. He was also IAA Vice-President for Scientific Activities.

Photo: IAA Academician Alexander Degtyarev, Member Engineering Sciences Section

GAUSS and the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) are pleased to report that the 5th edition of the IAA Conference on University Satellite Missions and CubeSat Workshop took place on January 28-31, 2020 in Rome. The Conference dedicated to CubeSats technology was organized by GAUSS Srl and sponsored by the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), European Space Agency (ESA) and American Astronautical Society (AAS). The Conference offered technical sessions on launch opportunities for universities, ground segment operations, space debris, new perspectives in microsatellites application and several presentations dedicated to CubeSats missions, and on interplanetary missions especially to Mars.

Photo: From left to the right: Jean-Michel Contant, France, Leonardo Mazzini, Italy and Filippo Graziani, Italy.