BILLIE REED APPOINTED AS INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVE TO COMSTAC

Billie Reed, Old Dominion University assistant professor of engineering management and executive director of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, was recently appointed an industry representative to the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater. Reed was selected because of his service in support of the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation.

As executive director of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, Reed oversees Virginia, NASA and Old Dominion University's initiative to develop a commercial spaceport and to establish a center for excellence in space operations. Reed also serves as chair of the Spaceport Subgroup on COMSTAC, a committee for developing regulatory policy for the development and operation of U.S. commercial spaceports. The two-year appointment to COMSTAC places him on a panel composed of the top leaders of corporations in the U.S. space industry.

COMSTAC acts as an advisory committee enhancing the FAA's regulatory and safety functions in such a way as to increase the competitiveness of the U.S. commercial space transportation industry in the international space launch market. COMSTAC is governed by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463.