HISTORY
USRA has a storied heritage that traces back to the formation of the Lunar Science Institute by the National Academy of Sciences in 1968 at the height of the Apollo program.
CONTINUING SUCCESS - USRA OPERATIONS TODAY
In 2006, Dr. Frederick A. Tarantino was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of USRA. Dr. Tarantino holds a Ph.D. in Nuclear Reactor Physics from MIT and is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business Advanced Management Program. Following a career in the U.S. Army that included a term as U.S. chair of the joint U.S.-UK working group on space power and an appointment as Defense Liaison in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Dr. Tarantino pursued a successful career in private, space-related industry. Most recently, he served as Principal Associate Director of the Nuclear Weapons Program at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he directed a science-based weapons stewardship program.
USRA today has grown to more than 100 member universities and employs more than 400 scientific, technical, and professional staff at our headquarters and at six co-located NASA Centers. We continually seek ways to support and sustain space science research and technology development for the benefit of the academic community, space-related industries, and NASA's mission to "pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research."
