Joins X PRIZE Foundation As VP, Operations, For The X PRIZE
Cup
The X PRIZE Foundation
has announced the appointment of Michael S. Kelly as Vice President
of the Foundation. Mr. Kelly will be responsible for all
engineering, safety and operational activities associated with the
annual X PRIZE CUP & PERSONAL SPACEFLIGHT EXPO, a partnership
of the X PRIZE Foundation and the state of New Mexico.
“Mike is a tremendous new asset to the capabilities of the
X PRIZE Foundation, especially in our efforts with the state of New
Mexico to develop the Southwest Regional Spaceport and X PRIZE CUP
& PERSONAL SPACEFLIGHT EXPO activities,” said Dr. Peter
Diamandis, Founder and Chairman. “
Michael Kelly brings to the X PRIZE Foundation 25 years of
experience in intercontinental ballistic missile systems and
expendable and reusable space launch systems design. He is a
technical innovator, experienced system engineer project and
program manager and an entrepreneurial corporate founder and
CEO.
“His passion is to work in the next-generation of space
business, something he started 44 years ago,” said Rod
O’Connor, X PRIZE Foundation President. “In this
position, Mike will be designing the first real inland spaceport,
and working one-on-one with every private space transportation
developer.”
Michael Kelly (right)
comes to the X PRIZE Foundation from Northrop Grumman/XonTech.
Previously he was Founder, Chairman and CEO of Kelly Space &
Technology and a staff engineer for TRW, Inc. at the Engineering
Mechanics Laboratory where he identified and developed new business
opportunities. He also co founded the TRW Launch Services
Organization. He began his career at TRW Ballistic Missiles
Division, supporting development of the Peacekeeper ICBM.
Mr. Kelly’s accomplishments include the invention of a
process to convert organic waste into natural gas; Chairmanship of
the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC)
Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV) Working Group, which advises the FAA
on regulatory matters pertaining to space launch,; receipt of a
patent for aerial towing technique for space launch, and
demonstrating the technique in a series of manned flight tests at
NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center.
Michael Kelly is a graduate of Purdue University with a Bachelor
of Science and Masters of Science degrees in Mechanical
Engineering.
The X PRIZE Foundation is an educational nonprofit prize
institute whose mission is to create radical breakthroughs in space
and technology for the benefit of humanity. On October 4, 2004, the
X PRIZE captured world headlines when Mojave Aerospace Ventures,
led by Burt Rutan and funded by Paul Allen, built and flew the
world’s first private spacecraft to the edge of space to win
the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE. Because of the dramatic nature of
the achievement, the X PRIZE Foundation is now widely recognized as
the leading model for fostering innovation through the use of
competitions.
Based on the success of the Ansari X PRIZE, The X PRIZE
Foundation has partnered with the state of New Mexico to present
the X PRIZE CUP & PERSONAL SPACEFLIGHT EXPO, an annual event in
Southern New Mexico. The Foundation will also assist in the
development of the state’s Southwestern Regional
Spaceport.
The 2005 Countdown to the X PRIZE CUP activities, scheduled for
October 6-9, includes a public symposium on the future of
spaceflight at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces on October
6th; educational and public activities at the New Mexico Museum of
Space History in Alamogordo on October 7-8; and a Personal
Spaceflight Expo at the Las Cruces International Airport on October
9th from 11a-5p.
Beginning in 2006, the X PRIZE CUP & PERSONAL SPACEFLIGHT
EXPO will be a week-long series of space-related events and
launches.