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Glenn Mahone/Bob Jacobs
Headquarters, Washington                 July 2, 2003
(Phone: 202/358-1898/1600)

Marny Skora
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
(Phone: 757/864-6121)

Eileen Hawley
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 281/483-5111)

RELEASE: 03-228

ROE SELECTED TO ASSIST NEW LANGLEY CENTER DIRECTOR

     General Roy Bridges, the incoming Center Director of 
NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., today 
announced the assignment of Ralph Roe, Jr. as his Special 
Assistant. He'll join Langley Aug. 10.

Roe, who's currently the manager of the Space Shuttle Vehicle 
Engineering Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston 
(JSC), will assist General Bridges in the development of new 
agency safety initiatives.

"When it comes to safety and engineering assessment, we have 
some work to do and Ralph's leadership in those areas will 
help me kick into high gear," said General Bridges in making 
the announcement. "His tremendous engineering experience at 
Johnson and Kennedy make him a natural selection to assist 
this important agency imperative."

Langley today forges new frontiers in aviation and space 
research as it has since 1917, when it was established as the 
nation's first civilian aeronautics laboratory. The center 
supports important agency initiatives in aviation safety, 
quiet aircraft technology, small aircraft transportation and 
aerospace vehicles system technology. 

The Hampton center has played a vital role in the Columbia 
investigation in the areas of entry aerodynamics, 
aerothermodynamics, structures and materials research and 
non-destructive evaluation. Langley also supports NASA space 
programs with atmospheric research and technology testing and 
development.

NASA will be looking at these important capabilities to 
bolster its independent engineering assessment and strengthen 
the agency's safety policies, processes and analysis.

Before his assignment at JSC in 1999, Roe was the Space 
Shuttle Launch Director at the NASA Kennedy Space Center 
(KSC) in Florida. He began his NASA career at KSC in 1983, 
serving initially as a propulsion systems test engineer. He 
also has been Chief, Fluid Systems Division, and Acting 
Director, Process Engineering. 

Roe was named Process Engineering director in October 1996, 
with responsibility for the engineering management and 
technical expertise of personnel involved in pre-launch, 
landing, recovery and turnaround operations for the Space 
Shuttle fleet.

As the manager of the Space Shuttle Vehicle Engineering 
Office at JSC, Roe led a team of more than 2,000 government 
and contractor engineers working on the fleet of NASA's 
orbiters. He has been instrumental in the technical 
leadership role of several Space Shuttle anomaly 
investigations and repairs. 

"In the summer of 2002, it was Roe and his talented team of 
engineers who found a solution to the tiny cracks that were 
found in one of the metal liners used to direct the flow of 
fuel inside the Shuttle's main engine," said Bill Parsons, 
Space Shuttle Program Manager at JSC. "His engineering 
expertise and his concern for the safety of everyone around 
him made him a success at Kennedy and Johnson, and I am sure 
he will serve at Langley with the same distinction to broaden 
NASA-wide capabilities."

Roe has a bachelor's of science degree in mechanical 
engineering from the University of South Carolina, Columbia. 
He also has a master's degree in industrial engineering from 
the University of Central Florida, Orlando.

Additional information about NASA and Langley are available 
on the Internet at:

www.nasa.gov

www.larc.nasa.gov

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