Short answers, pulled from the story.
Roger D. Launius is an American historian and author of Lithuanian descent who served as chief historian of NASA. He later worked at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., retiring in 2016 as Associate Director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs.
Roger D. Launius was born on the 15th of May 1954, in Galesburg, Illinois. He was raised in Greenville, South Carolina, and later earned degrees from Graceland College and Louisiana State University.
Roger D. Launius served as chief historian of NASA from 1990-2002. He later contributed space policy analysis after the Columbia Accident Investigation Board issued its report in 2003, and became a regular commentator on space-related issues for the news media.
Roger D. Launius has written more than twenty books and over 100 articles on the history of aerospace, including Historical Analogs for the Stimulation of Space Commerce (2014), Space Shuttle Legacy (2013), and Exploring the Solar System (2012). He twice won the AIAA History Manuscript Award, for Coming Home: Reentry and Recovery from Space in 2011 and for Space Stations: Base Camps to the Stars in 2003.
Roger D. Launius researched the history of the Latter Day Saint movement and served as president of the Mormon History Association in 1993-94 and the John Whitmer Historical Association in 1991-92. He also studies the history of baseball in the United States and co-wrote Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman with G. Michael Green.
Roger D. Launius received the John F. Kennedy Astronautics Award from the American Astronautical Society and the Secretary's Research Prize from the Smithsonian Institution, both in 2009. He is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Astronomical Society, the International Academy of Astronautics, and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.