Aiming for the Stars: A Discussion on NASA’s Future

On March 27, 2018,
James Schier presented a discussion of NASA’s future missions related to human
and robotic exploration and landings on other planets to the Freedom Museum.

Jim is the Chief Architect and Deputy Director of System Engineering for NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation Program.

Mr. Schier currently leads NASA and international studies on the evolution of space communications networks for future science and human exploration missions. He joined NASA after 25 years in industry where he worked on civil, defense, intelligence, and commercial space systems. At Northrop Grumman, he led subcontracts on commercial satellite systems and was a lead system engineer on the Orbital Space Plane. Mr. Schier was the Avionics Manager and Chief System Engineer on the International Space Station. At TRW, he led materials processing experiments for the 1985 Shuttle Spacelab 3 mission.

He received a Silver Snoopy award for his work on Spacelab 3 and a NASA Administrator’s Group Award for the Space Station redesign and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal “for exceptional service and exemplary leadership in creating NASA’s future Space Communications and Navigation Architecture.” He is a co-recipient of the National Aeronautics Association’s 2005 Brewer Trophy for leadership and service in support of the educational programming and outreach at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
He holds degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

Many of the Freedom Museum’s items are donated by local families to tell the story of veterans from Manassas, Manassas Park and Prince William County and their patriotic contribution to preserving our liberty. To see this artifact and much more, visit us at our brand new location.