Hans Mark

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Hans Mark
Mark in 1998
13th United States Secretary of the Air Force
In office May 18, 1979 – February 9, 1981 Acting: May 18, 1979 – July 26, 1979
President	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	John C. Stetson
Succeeded by	Verne Orr
7th Director of the National Reconnaissance Office
In office August 3, 1977 – October 8, 1979
President	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	Thomas C. Reed
Succeeded by	Robert J. Hermann
Personal details
Born	Hans Michael Mark (1929-06-17)June 17, 1929 Mannheim, Baden, Germany
Died	December 18, 2021(2021-12-18) (aged 92) Austin, Texas, U.S.
Education	University of California, Berkeley (BS) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS, PhD)

Hans Michael Mark (June 17, 1929 – December 18, 2021) was a German-born American government official who served as Secretary of the Air Force and as a Deputy Administrator of NASA. He was an expert and consultant in aerospace design and national defense policy.

Mark retired from the Department of

in July 2014.

Early life and career

Mark was born in

in 1954.

After receiving his doctorate, Mark stayed on at MIT as a

.

Mark also taught undergraduate and

.

U.S. government

In February 1969, he became director of NASA's

.

He subsequently served as Under Secretary of the

, a position he served in from July 10, 1981 to September 1, 1984. He later returned to the Pentagon in 1999–2000 to serve as Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E).

University of Texas

Upon leaving NASA in 1984, Mark served as

of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics.

Honors

Mark was a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the nation's highest honor for engineering professionals. He was also an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He received the 1999 Joe J. King Engineering Achievement Award and the 1999 George E. Haddaway Medal for Achievement in Aviation. Dr. Mark was honored for his contributions to the U.S. military space program at the 2006 annual meeting of the American Astronautical Society. He received the 2006 Military Astronautics Award on November 14, 2006 at the society's annual meeting in Pasadena, California.

In 2008, the Space Foundation awarded Mark its highest honor, the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award.^[6] It is presented annually to recognize outstanding individuals who have distinguished themselves through lifetime contributions to the welfare or betterment of humankind through the exploration, development and use of space, or the use of space technology, information, themes or resources in academic, cultural, industrial or other pursuits of broad benefit to humanity.

In 2012, the

awarded him the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Award. The award recognizes individuals for their significant role in the history of Air Force space and missile programs.

Later life and death

Mark died from progressive dementia in Austin, Texas, on December 18, 2021, at the age of 92. He is survived by his daughter, Jane Mark, his son Rufus Mark, his grandchildren, Rob and Rixana Jopson, and Phillip, Nick, and Juliette Mark, and his great-granddaughter Julianna Mark. ^[7]

Publications

Dr. Mark authored or edited eight books and published more than 180 technical reports. His works include:

• (co-authored) Adventures in Celestial Mechanics
• (co-authored) Encyclopedia of Space and Technology
• The Space Station: A Personal Journey (Duke University Press, 1987)
• The Management of Research Institutions (NASA SP-481, 1984)
• (co-authored) Experiments in Modern Physics and Power and Security
• (co-authored) The Properties of Matter Under Unusual Conditions
• An Anxious Peace: A Cold War Memoir (Texas A&M University Press, 2019)

References

• NASA biography
• Appearances on C-SPAN

Government offices
Preceded by James W. Plummer	United States Under Secretary of the Air Force 1977–1979	Succeeded by Antonia Handler Chayes
Preceded by John C. Stetson	United States Secretary of the Air Force 1979—1981	Succeeded by Verne Orr
Preceded by Alan M. Lovelace	Deputy Administrator of NASA July 10, 1981 – September 1, 1984	Succeeded by William Robert Graham
Preceded by Anita K. Jones	Director of Defense Research and Engineering 1998–2001	Succeeded by Ronald M. Sega