Retired Astronaut James F. Reilly Announced as General Meeting Speaker

The National Board announced James F. Reilly, retired NASA astronaut, will address the 84^th General Meeting April 27, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His presentation is entitled, Managing Safety in Spaceflight: Recognizing Narrow Margins.

Mr. Reilly received his masters of science degree and doctorate from the University of Texas-Dallas. From 1980 to his selection for the astronaut program in 1994, he was employed as an oil and gas exploration geologist. During this time he was actively involved in the application of new imaging technology for industrial applications in deep water engineering projects and biological research.  As part of his professional responsibilities, he spent 22 days in deep submergence vehicles operated by the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and the US Navy.

As an astronaut, Mr. Reilly flew on STS-89 in 1998, STS-104 in 2001, and STS-117 in 2007. His 2007 flight on the Atlantis was the 118^th shuttle mission and the 21^st mission to visit the International Space Station. The successful construction and repair mission involved five astronauts with Mr. Reilly and accumulated nearly 15 hours during two spacewalks. The mission returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, having traveled 5.8 million miles in 14 days.