James Alan Abrahamson (born May 19, 1933) is a retired U.S. Air Force general who served as a designated astronaut, associate director of NASA and former director of President Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative from 1984 until 1989. He is a businessman who served as chairman of the board of GeoEye, a company he helped to transform into the world's largest space imaging corporation and that merged with DigitalGlobe Inc in January 2013. Previously, he served as chairman of Oracle Corporation's board of directors from 1992 until 1995.
He graduated from Air Command and Staff College as a distinguished graduate in July 1966. He then attended the Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and, upon graduation, served as an astronaut with the Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory Program from August 1967 until the program was canceled in June 1969. Abrahamson never flew in space, and therefore does not wear astronaut wings.
In November 1981, he was assigned as associate administrator for the Space Transport System, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters, Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for the Space Shuttle Program. During his tenure, the Shuttle achieved 10 developmental and early operational launches, and demonstrated its operational capabilities by achieving the first satellite retrieval and repair mission.[2]
Strategic Defense Initiative
Lt. Gen. James Abrahamson & President Ronald Reagan at Strategic Defense Initiative Labs
Abrahamson was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to be the first director of the Strategic Defense Initiative ("SDI") in April 1984. The "Star Wars" program, as SDI's detractors dubbed it, was initiated to develop a sophisticated anti-ballistic missile system that would prevent missile attacks from other countries, particularly the Soviet Union. Some countries opposed to U.S. missile defense efforts raised concerns about the program "contravening" the strategic defense systems portion of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Agreement (SALT I) in the years before the program was enacted.
Ultimately, concerns about the objectives of SDI and fiscal budgetary constraints forced the Reagan administration to announce the program would cease.
Abrahamson was promoted to lieutenant general on July 21, 1982. He retired from the U.S. Air Force on March 1, 1989, and entered professional life.
1984 Received the General Bernard A. Schriever Award for outstanding achievement in support of Air Force missile and space programs
1986 Received the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Trophy for leadership and excellence in advancing space flight programs contributing to United States leadership in astronautics
1987 Honored as Man of the Year in Science and Technology from the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Foundation, Metropolitan Chapter, Washington, D.C.
Lt. Gen. Abrahamson was executive vice president for corporate development for Hughes Aircraft Company from October 1989 to April 1992 and as president of the transportation sector for Hughes Aircraft Company from April 1992 to September 1992.
From 1992 to 1995, he served as chairman of the board of directors of Oracle Corporation.[4] From 1996, he served as an adviser to FAA's Next Generation Air Transportation System, and founded International Air Safety LLC to bring the NextGen System researches to other civil aviation authorities.
In 1998, he became a director of ORBIMAGE and would become its chairman, overseeing the company's evolution into GeoEye, the world's largest space imaging company.[5] In January 2013, GeoEye was merged with DigitalGlobe Corporation[6] and Abrahamson was appointed to the board of directors of the newly merged company.[7]
Lt. Gen. Abrahamson was also involved in efforts to commercialize stratospheric airships. He serves as chairman and chief executive officer of StratCom LLC, SkySentry LLC and SkySpectrum LLC, privately held companies associated with the development of high-altitude vehicles (HAVs) for civil and military applications.[8]
He also served in the past as a member of the board of directors of Global Relief Technologies, Inc., a privately held company dedicated to improving disaster management and recovery through the use of high technology. Global Relief partnered with GeoEye and Telenor Services in the mid-2000s to provide timely satellite imagery to emergency relief workers operating in remote areas of the world.
Lt. Gen. Abrahamson also served as a member of the board of directors of an AIM-listed company, Crescent Technology Ventures PLC ("CTV"), in the mid-2000s. CTV was founded to develop security technologies.[9]
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