Bill Parsons
William “Bill” Parsons no longer works for NASA, but as president and CEO of RD AMROSS LLC, the University of Mississippi engineering alumnus remains a fixture in the aerospace industry.
A joint venture between Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., and NPO Energomash, a Russian rocket engine producer, the Cocoa Beach, Fla.-based company supplies a Russian rocket engine called the RD-180 that is used by United Launch Alliance on the Atlas V.
“The RD-180 has been used on that vehicle for 12-plus years and has flown 39 successful flights from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Station in California,” Parsons said. “A two-thrust chamber derivative of the RD-170, it packages the high performance, operability and reusability features of the RD-170 in a size to meet U.S. booster propulsion needs. We have two more launches from Cape Canaveral scheduled for this year, making a total of seven launches in 2012, and we have seven launches scheduled for 2013.”
Parsons joined RD AMROSS in April 2011. Pratt & Whitney provides manufacturing, mission engineering and management support, and it is licensed to produce the RD-180 in the U.S.
Prior to joining RD AMROSS, Parsons was vice president of strategic space initiatives at Lockheed Martin. Before joining Lockheed Martin, he served as director of NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center and served in other key positions, including deputy director of Kennedy Space Center, director of NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center, shuttle program manager for return to flight after the Columbia tragedy, and deputy director of the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
Parsons has received numerous honors, including the Presidential Rank Award (Meritorious Executive), NASA’s Exceptional Service Medal and Distinguished Service Medal, the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement and the Silver Snoopy. He also received the Engineer of Distinction and Alumni Hall of Fame awards from Ole Miss and the Alumnus of the Year award from the University of Central Florida.
Patrick Scheuermann credits Parsons with helping him find his NASA career and his position as director of the John C. Stennis Space Center. Scheuermann is currently director of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
“He has a great knack to ‘read people,’ concentrate on their strengths and build on them and that of the team,” Scheuermann said. “I will always appreciate his mentorship, advice and guidance. He always made the time for me and others.”
While Scheuermann was chief operating officer at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Scheuermann said that Parsons, who was named recovery director for Stennis and Michoud, helped personnel recover from the disaster, thanks to his ability to connect with individuals on many levels.
“I don’t know what I would have done in my capacity as COO if Bill had not been there for me as a leader and for the entire workforce to reassure us all,” he said. “He was unwavering in his commitment to ensure proper resources would arrive at the right time.
“By far, it is the most rewarding personal and professional experience of my life,” he said. “Bill Parsons is one of the finest men and leaders I know.”
John Shannon, the last space shuttle program manager, said Parsons was an incredible mentor.
“Without Bill Parsons’ leadership, we would not have been able to return the space shuttle to flight,” Shannon said. “He was the right person at the right time for NASA. It was an incredibly hard job, and he did it incredibly well.”
