Pickavance Retires; Nappi Selected as New Vice President for Launch and Recovery Systems and Florida Site Executive

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- United Space Alliance today announced the retirement of William W. "Bill" Pickavance, Rear Admiral USN (Ret), as Vice President for Launch and Recovery Systems and USA's Florida Site Executive, and the selection of Mark Nappi, currently Functional Director and Associate Program Manager (APM) for Ground Operations, as his replacement, effective June 28.

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Pickavance will be retiring following a distinguished career spanning 40 years as a naval aviator, U.S. Navy carrier commanding officer and space industry executive. He joined USA in July 2000 and since that time has been responsible for the day-to-day operations of all USA Space Shuttle program elements in Florida.

"Bill has served his country on land, air, sea and space, and we are grateful for his leadership and service while at USA," said USA President and Chief Executive Officer Dick Covey. "We wish him and his wife, Nancy, the very best."

As Vice President for Launch and Recovery Systems and the Florida Site Executive, Nappi will report directly to the CEO and will also serve as USA's lead for the development of new business opportunities in the Florida market.

Nappi has served in his current position as Functional Director and APM for Ground Operations since June 2004 and has directed the integration of all activities at the Kennedy Space Center required to process the Space Shuttle from landing to launch. Prior to that, Nappi served as deputy APM for Ground Operations, director of Launch Operations and director of Shuttle Engineering. He began his career at KSC in 1985 with Lockheed Martin, and then transitioned to USA as the director of Safety, Quality and Mission Assurance. He holds a bachelor's degree in ocean engineering and a master's degree in management science both from Florida Institute of Technology. He is also a graduate of the Lockheed Leadership Institute and the Boeing Strategic Leadership Seminar.

"Mark has proven himself to be an outstanding leader and operations manager," Covey said. "His strong leadership will be essential as we safely fly out the Space Shuttle program and transition to the next phase of human space flight."

Replacing Nappi as the Functional Director and APM for Ground Operations will be USA's current Deputy APM for Ground Operations Patty Stratton.

Stratton has served as Deputy APM since July 2004. She previously served as director of Orbiter Operations, as USA's director of launch operations and as deputy director for the Program Office. Stratton began her aerospace career in 1982 with USBI, maker of the Shuttle's Solid Rocket Boosters. In 1983, she joined Lockheed Space Operations and held several management positions of increasing responsibility before transitioning to USA. She holds a master's degree in technical management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and is a graduate of the Brookings Institute, the Boeing Leadership Center and the Lockheed Martin Management Institute.

United Space Alliance is a world leader in space operations with extensive experience in all aspects of the field. Headquartered in Houston, USA has 10,000 employees working in Texas, Florida and Alabama. Currently, USA is applying its broad range of capabilities to NASA's Space Shuttle, International Space Station and Constellation programs as well as to space operations customers in the commercial and international space industry sectors.