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Les Johnson Colloquium Provides Overview of NASA Space Science Projects
Les Johnson, manager of the Science Projects and Programs Office at NASA’s George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, was on campus on November 1, 2007, to provide Departments of Physics and Mathematics as well as other students and faculty an overview of the latest developments in advanced in-space propulsion technologies such as tethers, solar sails and areocapture. He also discussed the status of current space science missions, including Solar-B, Gravity Probe B and the Chandra E-Ray Observatory. Johnson concluded his presentation with a summary of emerging Earth Science applications and an overview of NASA’s Discovery and New Frontier Programs.
In the early 1990s, Johnson worked on the design of NASA’s IMAGE spacecraft and is a two-time recipient of NASA's Exceptional Achievement Medal. He also holds patents on innovative space propulsion techniques and served as technical consultant for the movie Lost in Space. Before joining NASA, he worked for General Research Corporation, where he helped develop and design Directed Energy Systems as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative.
Together with City Tech Physics Professor Gregory L. Matloff and artist C Bangs, Johnson co-authored Living Off the Land in Space: Green Roads to the Cosmos, published by Springer earlier this year. The book presents a visionary concept for future development of interstellar travel. It describes the enabling technology for advanced in-space propulsion systems and demonstrates how humankind will draw on the natural forces of the cosmos itself in its exploration and eventual settlement of nearby and more distance space.
11/13/07
