MIT Club of Australia : A Career Journey in Space Research and Operations

In this live webcast from October 25, 2024, Larry James discusses the evolution of space capabilities throughout his 46 year career in aerospace and intelligence.Topics include autonomous navigation in the early days of the Space Shuttle, R&D for the GPS Satellite system and development of operational capability, command and control of space systems and space domain awareness, space based intelligence capabilities, deep space exploration, earth science from space, and astrophysics milestones and future goals.
About the speaker: Lt Gen (USAF Ret) Larry D. James is the Strategic Advisor for SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) in Adelaide Australia and a Distinguished Professor of Space Research and Innovation at Monash University in Melbourne Australia. At SmartSat CRC he provides advocacy, technical advice, and support for SmartSat’s R&D, innovation and educational activities. At Monash he engages with senior university leadership to further space curriculum expansion and development; help build government partnerships both domestically and globally; build research collaborations and opportunities; and support indigenous student development programs.
Prior to this assignment he served as Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 2013 to 2024. As the Laboratory's Chief Operating Officer, he was responsible for the day-to-day management of JPL's resources and activities. This included managing the Laboratory's solar system exploration, Mars, astronomy, physics, Earth science, interplanetary network programs, and all business operations.
Prior to his retirement from active duty in 2013, Lt. Gen. James was the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) at the Pentagon. He was responsible to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force for policy formulation, planning, evaluation, oversight, and leadership of Air Force ISR capabilities and led more than 20,000 ISR officers, enlisted and civilians across the Air Force ISR Enterprise.
Lt. Gen. James received his Bachelor of Science in Astronautical Engineering (1978) from the US Air Force Academy (Distinguished Graduate) and his Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics (1983) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA. He was also a Draper Fellow at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, MA. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).