Roger D. Launius
Roger D. Launius is an American historian, born on the 15th of May 1954, whose specialty is the history of air and space. In 2009, the American Astronautical Society gave him its John F. Kennedy Astronautics Award. The honor recognized his public service and his work promoting the exploration and use of outer space. That citation might suggest a career spent only among rockets and satellites. Yet his bibliography holds titles far removed from spaceflight, on a religious movement and on a colorful figure from American baseball. What carried a NASA historian into such different territory?
Galesburg, Illinois, is where Launius was born, though his family raised him in Greenville, South Carolina. He earned a bachelor's degree in American history from Graceland College in 1976. Louisiana State University granted him a master's degree in the same subject in 1978, then a PhD in history in 1982. That doctorate opened the door to the government and museum career that followed.
From 1982-1990, Launius held several positions as a civilian historian with the United States Air Force. NASA then made him its chief historian, a role he held from 1990-2002. In 2001, he also held the Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History at the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum kept him on afterward. He chaired its Division of Space History from 2002-2006, then served as Senior Curator from 2006-2013. From 2013 he was Associate Director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs, a post he held until retiring in 2016. After the Columbia Accident Investigation Board issued its report in 2003, Launius contributed space policy analysis in response. He also became a regular commentator on space-related issues for the news media.
More than twenty books and over 100 articles on the history of aerospace carry Launius's name as author. Among his titles is Historical Analogs for the Stimulation of Space Commerce, published in 2014. A second title is Space Shuttle Legacy: How We Did It and What We Learned, from 2013. Exploring the Solar System: The History and Science of Planetary Probes followed in 2012. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics gave him its History Manuscript Award twice. Coming Home: Reentry and Recovery from Space won the award in 2011, and Space Stations: Base Camps to the Stars won it in 2003.
The Latter Day Saint movement became a second historical focus for Launius, alongside his work in aerospace. He served as president of the Mormon History Association in 1993-94, and earlier as president of the John Whitmer Historical Association in 1991-92. His book Joseph Smith III: Pragmatic Prophet won two honors. It earned him the David Woolley Evans and Beatrice Evans Biography Award in 1989, and the John Whitmer Historical Association Best Book Award. Launius also studies the history of baseball in the United States. With G. Michael Green, he co-wrote Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman.
The Smithsonian Institution gave Launius its Secretary's Research Prize in 2009. That same year, the Society for History in the Federal Government gave him its Roger R. Trask Award. The National Air and Space Museum had already given him its Director's Award in 2008. In 2006, the United States Air Force Academy invited him to deliver its Harmon Memorial Lecture in Military History. NASA itself awarded him the Distinguished Service Medal in 2001 and the Exceptional Service Medal in 1999. He also won the Charles Thomson Prize four times, in 1995, 1998-2008 and 2012.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science named him a fellow in 2007. The American Astronomical Society had done the same in 2001, and the International Academy of Astronautics followed, also in 2007. In 2021, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics made him a Fellow as well.
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Common questions
Who is Roger D. Launius?
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.
When was Roger D. Launius born?
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.
What did Roger D. Launius do as chief historian of NASA?
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.
What books has Roger D. Launius written?
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.
Why did Roger D. Launius write about Mormon history and baseball?
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.
What awards and honors has Roger D. Launius received?
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.
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24 references cited across the entry
- 3Roger Launius22 November 2007
- 4Curriculum VitaeRoger D. Launius
- 5BookLeadership in science and technology : a reference handbookWilliam Sims Bainbridge — Sage — 2012
- 6BookCritical Issues in the History of SpaceflightNational Aeronautics and Space Administration — 2013
- 7NewsReport Names Few But Finds Fault With Top ManagersJim Leusner — August 27, 2003
- 8JournalColumbia Lost: Humans in SpaceWilliam Schulz — February 10, 2003
- 9NewsSpace telescope faces setbackFrank D. Roylance — October 9, 2011
- 10NewsOne Last Spin Around the PlanetArian Campo-Flores et al. — July 9, 2011
- 11JournalIs Joseph Smith Relevant to the Community of Christ?Roger D. Launius — 2006
- 12JournalPresidential Address: Mormon Memory, Mormon Myth, and Mormon HistoryRoger D. Launius — 1995
- 13JournalPast Presidents2014
- 15BookA companion to American technologyBlackwell — 2008
- 18Review: Charlie FinleySteve Weingarden — 2010
- 19JournalAAS Annual Awards Recipients2009
- 21JournalFederal History and National Identity: Reflections from the TrenchesRoger D. Launius — 2010
- 24Fellows ListRoger Launius — AIAA