John Muratore
Encyclopedia
John F. Muratore is an American engineer and professor of Aviation Systems at the University of Tennessee Space Institute
in Tullahoma, TN. He is a former NASA engineer and Program Manager, well known in the aerospace circles for his gregarious and unconventional style.
and a Master of Science in Computer Science in 1988 from the University of Houston–Clear Lake
. After serving in the US Air Force, Mr. Muratore joined NASA JSC in 1983 and has held progressively responsible leadership positions including Chief, Reconfiguration Management Division, Space Shuttle Flight Director, and Chief, Control Center Systems Division in the Mission Operations Directorate; and Associate Director and Deputy Manager, Advance Development Office and Assistant to the Director, Engineering within the Engineering Directorate.
From 1996 to 2003, he was the Program Manager of the X-38 program, an unmanned demonstrator which performed a series of successful demonstration flights at Edwards Air Force Base
. He gathered a team of young, relatively inexperienced but highly motivated engineers to try to apply the 'faster, better, cheaper' method advocated by Daniel Goldin
to human spaceflight, in order for NASA to obtain at affordable cost a Crew Return Vehicle
.
In 2003, following the cancellation of the X-38 program due to the International Space Station program's financial woes, Mr. Muratore was named Manager, Space Shuttle Systems Engineering and Integration Office, Space Shuttle Program. Most recently he has served as Lead Engineer for the Space Shuttle Program.
In April 2006, following his technical opposition to Michael Griffin
's decisions regarding the Shuttle return to flight, he was reassigned as Senior Systems Engineer supporting the Shuttle/Station Engineering Office in the Engineering Directorate.
In August 2006, as part of NASA's outreach program, Muratore became an Adjunct Lecturer at Rice University
in Houston, Texas. He taught graduate-level classes in Aerospace Systems Engineering and Introductory Flight Testing. Also while at Rice, Muratore advised an undergraduate Senior Design group tasked with creating an experiment to be flown on NASA's Weightless Wonder microgravity research aircraft. The purpose of the experiment was to demonstrate the feasibility of using the aircraft as a test-bed for commercial small-scale zero-gravity systems; testing of such systems in a 1 G environment requires costly simulators that cannot completely model micro- and zero-gravity environments. The Rice team, under the guidance of Muratore, showed that the NASA aircraft indeed was a viable platform for such testing, creating an impressive mock satellite in only two semesters with a very limited budget.
Muratore's experiences at Rice University inspired him to teach full-time. He is now a professor of Aviation Systems at the University of Tennessee Space Institute
in Tullahoma, TN.
University of Tennessee Space Institute
The University of Tennessee Space Institute, also known as UTSI, is a satellite campus of the University of Tennessee located near Tullahoma, Tennessee....
in Tullahoma, TN. He is a former NASA engineer and Program Manager, well known in the aerospace circles for his gregarious and unconventional style.
Biography
He earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1979 from Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and a Master of Science in Computer Science in 1988 from the University of Houston–Clear Lake
University of Houston–Clear Lake
The University of Houston–Clear Lake is a state university, and is a component institution of the University of Houston System. Its campus spans 524-acre in Pasadena, with a satellite campus in Pearland. Founded in 1971, UHCL has an enrollment of more than 8,000 students...
. After serving in the US Air Force, Mr. Muratore joined NASA JSC in 1983 and has held progressively responsible leadership positions including Chief, Reconfiguration Management Division, Space Shuttle Flight Director, and Chief, Control Center Systems Division in the Mission Operations Directorate; and Associate Director and Deputy Manager, Advance Development Office and Assistant to the Director, Engineering within the Engineering Directorate.
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
. He gathered a team of young, relatively inexperienced but highly motivated engineers to try to apply the 'faster, better, cheaper' method advocated by Daniel Goldin
Daniel Goldin
Daniel Saul Goldin served as the 9th and longest-tenured Administrator of NASA from April 1, 1992, to November 17, 2001. He was appointed by President George H. W. Bush and also served under President William Jefferson Clinton and George W...
to human spaceflight, in order for NASA to obtain at affordable cost a Crew Return Vehicle
Crew Return Vehicle
The Crew Return Vehicle , sometimes referred to as the Assured Crew Return Vehicle , is the proposed lifeboat or escape module for the International Space Station...
.
In 2003, following the cancellation of the X-38 program due to the International Space Station program's financial woes, Mr. Muratore was named Manager, Space Shuttle Systems Engineering and Integration Office, Space Shuttle Program. Most recently he has served as Lead Engineer for the Space Shuttle Program.
In April 2006, following his technical opposition to Michael Griffin
Michael D. Griffin
Michael Douglas Griffin is an American physicist and aerospace engineer. From April 13, 2005 to January 20, 2009 he served as Administrator of NASA, the space agency of the United States...
's decisions regarding the Shuttle return to flight, he was reassigned as Senior Systems Engineer supporting the Shuttle/Station Engineering Office in the Engineering Directorate.
In August 2006, as part of NASA's outreach program, Muratore became an Adjunct Lecturer at Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
in Houston, Texas. He taught graduate-level classes in Aerospace Systems Engineering and Introductory Flight Testing. Also while at Rice, Muratore advised an undergraduate Senior Design group tasked with creating an experiment to be flown on NASA's Weightless Wonder microgravity research aircraft. The purpose of the experiment was to demonstrate the feasibility of using the aircraft as a test-bed for commercial small-scale zero-gravity systems; testing of such systems in a 1 G environment requires costly simulators that cannot completely model micro- and zero-gravity environments. The Rice team, under the guidance of Muratore, showed that the NASA aircraft indeed was a viable platform for such testing, creating an impressive mock satellite in only two semesters with a very limited budget.
Muratore's experiences at Rice University inspired him to teach full-time. He is now a professor of Aviation Systems at the University of Tennessee Space Institute
University of Tennessee Space Institute
The University of Tennessee Space Institute, also known as UTSI, is a satellite campus of the University of Tennessee located near Tullahoma, Tennessee....
in Tullahoma, TN.
Publications
Muratore has written several articles. A selection:- 1990. John F. Muratore, Troy A. Heindel, Terri B. Murphy, Arthur N. Rasmussen, Robert Z. McFarland: "Real-Time Data Acquisition at Mission Control". In: Commun. ACM 33(12): 18-31 (1990)
External links
- Team Aviators : Microgravity Research (Rice University)
- University of Tennessee Space Institute (University of Tennessee)
- Twenty-First Century Flight Test Engineering Education Using NI LabVIEW Software and PXI Hardware
- NASA Space Grant Course Online - Space Systems Engineering
- Rice Instrumentation and Data Acquisition course online at National Instruments
- MyDAQ LabVIEW example courseware at National Instruments