The Honorable Peter B. Teets to Receive 2009 Gen. James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award

The Space Foundation Board of Directors has selected The Honorable Peter B. Teets for the Foundation’s highest honor – the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award. The award will be presented at a special luncheon event on Wednesday, April 1, 2009, during the 25th National Space Symposium. A former Under Secretary of the Air Force and Director of the National Reconnaissance Office and former president and COO of Lockheed Corporation, Mr. Teets was selected for his numerous contributions to both military and commercial space programs. Raytheon is the co-sponsor of this year’s Hill Award Luncheon.

The Space Foundation annually presents the Hill award in honor of its late, long-time chairman, General James E. Hill, USAF (Retired). The award recognizes outstanding individuals who have distinguished themselves through lifetime contributions to the welfare or betterment of humankind through exploration, development, and use of space, or through use of space technology, information, themes, or resources in academic, cultural, industrial, or other pursuits of broad benefit to humanity. Nominations are solicited from throughout the worldwide space industry, and the Space Foundation Board of Directors selects the honoree.

“Mr. Teets’ four decades of contributions to manned and unmanned access to space have made their mark on our national security and space programs and have helped lead the way for all space-faring nations,” said Space Foundation President and CEO Elliot Pulham. “It is an honor for the Space Foundation to present Mr. Teets with the Hill Award. His remarkable achievements warrant a place in space history alongside previous legendary recipients of the award.”

Mr. Teets served as Under Secretary of the Air Force and Director of the National Reconnaissance Office from December 2001 thru March 2005. As Under Secretary, he was responsible for all actions of the Air Force on behalf of the Secretary of the Air Force and was acting secretary in the secretary’s absence. He oversaw recruiting, training, and equipping more than 710,000 people and managed a budget of approximately $110 billion. As the Director of the National Reconnaissance Office, Mr. Teets was responsible for the acquisition and operation of all U.S. space-based reconnaissance and intelligence systems. Designated the Department of Defense Executive Agent for Space, Mr. Teets developed, coordinated and integrated plans and programs for space systems. 

Mr. Teets is the retired President and Chief Operating Officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation, a position he held from 1997 through 1999. He began his career with Martin Marietta, Denver, Colo., in 1963, as an engineer in flight control analysis. In 1970 he began managing the integration of a new inertial guidance system for the Titan IIIC launch vehicle. After serving in various management positions, Mr. Teets became President of Martin Marietta Denver Aerospace, and in 1993, President of the company’s Space Group. After the Lockheed Martin merger in 1995 and until 1997, Mr. Teets served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the company’s Information and Services Sector.

Mr. Teets holds a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from the University of Colorado, Boulder, a master’s degree in applied mathematics from the University of Colorado, Denver, a master’s degree in management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an honorary doctorate of science from the University of Colorado.

This year marks the eighth annual presentation of the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award. Previous award recipients are Norman R. Augustine; Capt. James Lovell, Jr., USN (Retired); Gen. Bernard A. Schriever, USAF (Retired); The Honorable Edward C. “Pete” Aldridge, Jr.; Col. Buzz Aldrin, Ph.D., USAF (Retired); Simon Ramo, Ph.D.; and The Honorable Hans Mark, Ph.D.

 Pictured: Teets

This article is part of Space Watch: February 2009 (Volume: 8, Issue: 2).