Roger D. Launius (born May 15, 1954) is an American historian and author of Lithuanian descent, a former chief historian of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

. He retired in 2016 as Associate Director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs for the Smithsonian

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the N ...

in Washington, D.C.Curriculum vitae
Retrieved April 7, 2018 Launius is a consulting historian in air and space history. He has written many books on space flight, and also published on the

history of the Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement is a religious movement within Christianity that arose during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century and that led to the set of doctrines, practices, and cultures called '' Mormonism'', and to the e ...

Early life and education

Launius was born in

Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria. At the 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistic ...

, and was raised in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the county seat, seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenvil ...

. He graduated from

Graceland College Graceland University is a private university with campuses in Lamoni, Iowa, and Independence, Missouri. The university offers degree completion and master's degree programs at satellite campuses in Centerville and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Trento ...

in 1976 and received a PhD in history in 1982 from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 n ...

Career

From 1982 to 1990, Launius held several positions as a civilian historian with the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

. Between 1990 and 2002, he was the chief historian for NASA. In 2001, he held the

Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History The Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History, also known as the Lindbergh Chair, is a one-year senior fellowship hosted by the U.S. National Air and Space Museum (NASM), to assist a scholar in the research and composition of a book about ae ...

at the Smithsonian. From 2002-2006 he was Chair of the Division of Space History at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. From 2006-2013 he was Senior Curator, and from 2013-2016 Launius was Associate Director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs at the same institution. Launius contributed space policy analysis in the wake of the

Columbia Accident Investigation Board The ''Columbia'' Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) was an internal commission convened by NASA to investigate the destruction of the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' during STS-107 upon atmospheric re-entry on February 1, 2003. The panel determin ...

2003 report. He has been a regular commentator on space-related issues for the news media. He was president of the

Mormon History Association The Mormon History Association (MHA) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of Mormon history to promote understanding, scholarly research, and publication in the field. MHA was founded i ...

in 1993–94 and was president of the

John Whitmer Historical Association The John Whitmer Historical Association (JWHA) is an independent, nonprofit organization promoting study, research, and publishing about the history and culture of the Latter Day Saint movement. It is especially focused on the Community of Christ ...

in 1991–92.

Publications

Launius has written more than twenty books and 100 articles on the history of aerospace. Some titles include ''Historical analogs for the stimulation of space commerce'' (2014), ''Space shuttle legacy : how we did it and what we learned'' (2013), and ''Exploring the Solar System: The History and Science of Planetary Probes'' (2012). He has twice won the

AIAA The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of t ...

History Manuscript Award, for''Coming Home: Reentry and Recovery from Space'' in 2011, and for ''Space Stations: Base Camps to the Stars'' in 2003. Launius has published on the history of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

. He won both the David Woolley Evans and Beatrice Evans Biography Award (1989) and the John Whitmer Historical Association Best Book Award for his work on Mormon history, ''Joseph Smith III: Pragmatic Prophet''. Launius studies the history of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

in the United States, and published ''Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman'' with G. Michael Green''.

Awards and honors

Launius other awards include: * John F. Kennedy Astronautics Award, American Astronautical Society, 2009, as an "individual who has made an outstanding contribution to public service through leadership in promoting our space programs for the exploration and utilization of outer space". * Secretary's Research Prize, Smithsonian Institution, 2009. * Roger R. Trask Award, Society for History in the Federal Government, 2009. * Director's Award, National Air and Space Museum, 2008. * Harmon Memorial Lecturer in Military History, United States Air Force Academy, 2006. * NASA Distinguished Service Medal, 2001. * NASA Exceptional Service Medal, 1999. * Charles Thomson Prize, 1995, 1998, 2008, 2012 Launius is a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

(2007), the

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

(2001), and the

International Academy of Astronautics The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is an independent non-governmental organization established in Stockholm (Sweden) on August 16, 1960, by Dr. Theodore von Kármán, and recognized by the United Nations in 1996. The IAA has electe ...

(2007). He is an Associate Fellow of the

American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...

(2008).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Launius, Roger D. 1954 births Living people Air force historians 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American members of the Community of Christ Graceland University alumni Historians of aviation Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement Louisiana State University alumni NASA people Writers from Greenville, South Carolina Smithsonian Institution people United States Air Force civilians American people of Lithuanian descent American male non-fiction writers