Paul D. Maley



Personal:
Married, currently resides in Arizona USA.

Education:
B.S. Pan American College; M.S. University of Houston; MBA University of Houston.

Background:
Worked at the NASA Johnson Space Center supporting various manned space efforts from 1969-2010. Retired since 2010. Work experience includes space program integration with domestic and international aerospace organizations in Europe, Japan and Russia; space vehicle reentry planning and interception; optical observations of space vehicles in orbit; and payload operations flight control. Supported the Flight Director office in the development of flight rules. Provided interactive training to astronauts in the observation of astronomical phenomena while in space.

Manager of International Spaceflight Operations organization including a total of 25 personnel. Monitored activities of the USA contingent of the NASA Houston Support Group engineering team in Moscow and in Houston supporting joint Russian-American flight operations for the International Space Station (ISS).

Research:
Observation of occultations of stars by solar system objects (1977 to present). This includes organization of international joint expeditions for asteroid occultation observations in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Spain, South Africa, India and other locations.

Applied research includes: derivation of the spin rate/orientation from the quiescent spacecraft ABRIXAS using optical observations;
assessment of Proton rocket ullage motors as precursors to explosions in orbit; correlation between space debris and specific ground based flash observations on the Moon; and specular satellite reflection and the 1985 March 19 optical outburst in Perseus.

Provided optical ground tracking support to document the carrier/spacecraft reentry and recovery of the Japanese Hyabusa-1 asteroid sample return mission (2010) in Australia. Technical advisor to Project STARSHINE deployable payload on STS-96. Coordinated satellite ground observation and training requirements.

Designed an experiment which flew on an airborne campaign to record the reentry of the first European cargo spacecraft in 2008 as part of a campaign coordinated by ESA and NASA. Supported the NASA Engineering Directorate in Australia for imaging the Tethered Satellite System after release from STS-75.

Provided optical tracking project strategy and support to the NASA Space Science Branch for reentry operations involving the Small Expendable Deployer System (SEDS) from Mexico, Shuttle External Tank reentries from Hawaii and for optical characteristics measurement of orbiting satellites (ODERACS) from Chile.


Space Environment Work:
Principal Investigator for the Detailed Test Objective 330 “Water Dump Cloud Formation” which studied observational characteristics of effluent ejected from the Space Shuttle and potential impact to deployed payloads. This was flown in space on mission STS-29.

Independent Consultation:
Served as a consultant to the Pakistan Upper Atmosphere & Space Commission on low light level detection of geostationary spacecraft and, to the European Space Agency on control center training architecture.


Past professional activities:
Chairman of national Space Science and Astronomy Technical Committee of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics 1988.

Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society 1977.

International Astronautical Federation former member of Education Committee and Space Transportation Committee.


Outreach activities:
Develops science based astronomy tours for the NASA Johnson Space Center Astronomical Society as part of a long term public outreach from the society to provide hands on educational experience with solar eclipses and aurora. Provided presentations at 47 expeditions to solar eclipses around the world.

Developed initiative through the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful uses of Outer Space to provide Mir and Space Shuttle viewing opportunities to 34 countries during the International Space Year 1992.

Presentation of photographs of space related phenomena in popular publications as well as national broadcast media in the USA and UK.