Jerroll Wayne Littles | |
|---|---|
 Official NASA portrait of J. Wayne Littles | |
| Born | (1939-07-14)July 14, 1939 (age 86) Moultrie, Georgia, U.S. |
| Occupation | NASA executive |
| Title | Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center |
Jerrol Wayne Littles (born July 14, 1939) was the eighth director of theNASAMarshall Space Flight Center located inHuntsville, Alabama. He served as director from February 3, 1996, to January 3, 1998.
Littles was born inMoultrie, Georgia, in 1939.[1]
Prior to his appointment as center director, Littles served as NASA associate administrator for the Office of Space Flight (1994–1996). Littles began his NASA career in 1967 when he worked as an engineer in Marshall's former Propulsion and Vehicle Engineering Directorate. He worked in various capacities at the Marshall Center, including science engineering director (1988–1989) and center deputy director (1989–1994) before transferring to NASA Headquarters in 1994, as chief engineer. Littles was involved in the redesign of the space shuttle solid rocket booster, blamed for theChallenger disaster in 1986.[4]Littles was also a witness for theRogers Commission, which investigated thechallenger Disaster[5]
During his two years as Center Director, Dr. Littles' administration was responsible for the space lab mission, the space science projects, alternative light-weight launch vehicles, and their engine development. He retired from NASA in 1998.
Littles is a Fellow of theAmerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.