Boeing

The Sea Launch Company's Board of Directors has named James G. Maser as the company's new President and General Manager, effective Sept. 10.

Until his new assignment as President, Maser served as Chief Systems Engineer for Sea Launch, focusing his efforts on systems integration, recurring engineering process improvement, mission integration cycle time reduction, vehicle performance increase and mission assurance processes. In four months, he completed an assignment as the Chairman of the Sea Launch Failure Review Oversight Board, which ultimately led to a return-to-flight status after the failure of the ICO-1 mission in March 2000. The record-breaking turnaround was demonstrated by the successful PAS-9 campaign in July 2000, which has since been followed by three additional successes. Maser has appointed Kirk Pysher, previously Deputy Chief Systems Engineer, to succeed him as Chief Systems Engineer.

Maser, an aerospace engineer with extensive experience in program management, design and engineering leadership, came to Sea Launch in 1998 from the Boeing Delta and Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle programs. Before joining McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) in the 1980s, he was a research fellow at the NASA/Lewis Research Center. The American Association for Aeronautics and Astronautics honored Maser with the coveted George M. Low Space Transportation Award in Sept. 2000. He has Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Engineering from the University of Akron as well as a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of California/Los Angeles.

Maser replaces Will Trafton, who has been appointed President of Boeing Launch Services, Inc. (BLS), and Vice President and Deputy General Manager for Boeing Expendable Launch Systems in Huntington Beach, Calif. The newly formed BLS will provide marketing and sales services for both the Sea Launch and Delta launch vehicles. Trafton will continue in his role as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sea Launch Company, LLC.