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James W. (Jim)
Kennedy was born in Riverdale, Md., and raised in Cocoa Beach,
FL. He is a graduate of Cocoa Beach High School and began his
career with NASA in 1968 in the Aerospace Engineering
Cooperative Education Program at Kennedy Space Center, and
subsequently, Marshall Space Flight Center. After earning a
Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn
University in 1972, he was called to active duty with the U.S.
Air Force. In 1977, he received a Master's in business
administration from Georgia Southern University.
He joined
Marshall Space Flight Center in 1980 as an engineer in the
Shuttle Projects Office, and in 1987, was named manager of the
Shuttle Program Planning and Management Systems Office. He later
served as the manager of the Solid Rocket Booster Project
Office.
Kennedy served as
the deputy director of Marshall's Science and Engineering
Directorate and was later named director of the center's
Engineering Directorate. In 2001, he was selected to serve as
deputy director of the Marshall Space Flight Center, and two
years later, he was named the deputy director of the Kennedy
Space Center. In 2003, he became the eighth director of the
Kennedy Space Center. Kennedy retired as director of the
Kennedy Space Center in January of 2007.
Kennedy has
received numerous awards during his distinguished career with
NASA, including the National Space Club's Astronautics Engineer
of the Year Award, MSFC Leadership Award, the Silver Snoopy
Award, NASA's Distinguished Service Medal, the Presidential Rank
Meritorious and Distinguished Service Awards, and the NASA
Outstanding Leadership Medal. Most recently, he received the Dr.
Kurt H. Debus Award from the National Space Club Florida
Committee and the Auburn Engineering Achievement Award from the
Auburn Alumni Engineering Council.
Jim Kennedy and
his wife, Bernadette, currently reside in Cocoa Beach, FL. He
has two grown children, Jeff and Jamie, and is the proud
grandfather of Hayes and Rebecca.
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