By: Whitmire, Brown S.R. No. 681 1-1 SENATE RESOLUTION 1-2 WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas takes great pride 1-3 in recognizing George W. S. Abbey, an outstanding citizen of our 1-4 state and the Deputy Director of the Johnson Space Center; and 1-5 WHEREAS, A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, 1-6 George Abbey earned a master of science degree in electrical 1-7 engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1-8 1959; as an officer in the United States Air Force he served 1-9 in management positions on the Air Force DYNASOAR Program and 1-10 as a technical liaison officer for the Boeing Company and the 1-11 NASA Langley Research Center on the Lunar Orbiter Program; and 1-12 WHEREAS, A man of unusual talent and expertise, Mr. Abbey 1-13 was assigned to the Johnson Space Center in 1964 and became a 1-14 permanent member of the center's staff in 1967; he served as 1-15 Technical Assistant to the Manager for the Apollo Spacecraft 1-16 Program and later became a Technical Assistant to the Director; 1-17 and 1-18 WHEREAS, In 1976, Mr. Abbey was appointed to the position 1-19 of Director of Flight Operations; his responsibilities in this 1-20 position were far-reaching and included the operational planning 1-21 and management of flight crew and flight control activities for all 1-22 manned space flight missions; and 1-23 WHEREAS, He was appointed Director of Flight Crew Operations 2-1 in 1985 and in 1988 became the Deputy Associate Administrator for 2-2 Space Flight at the NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.; his 2-3 office was responsible for the development and operation of the 2-4 space shuttle, including systems design, flight schedules, program 2-5 enhancements, and payload assignments; he was responsible for the 2-6 NASA expendable launch vehicle and advanced transportation systems; 2-7 and 2-8 WHEREAS, Remarkably skilled and well experienced, George Abbey 2-9 was appointed Deputy for Operations for the Synthesis Group in 2-10 1990; the group was given the task of defining at least two or more 2-11 alternate architectures for returning to the moon and landing on 2-12 Mars; he was named Special Assistant to the Administrator of NASA in 2-13 1992, and in January of 1994, he became Deputy Director of the 2-14 Johnson Space Center; and 2-15 WHEREAS, An extraordinary individual, George Abbey has made 2-16 countless contributions to our country's space programs through 2-17 his exceptional administrative ability, leadership, and expertise; 2-18 and 2-19 WHEREAS, Throughout his highly successful career, Mr. Abbey 2-20 has received numerous awards for his outstanding work, including 2-21 the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1969, the NASA Distinguished 2-22 Service Medal in 1973 and 1981, and the AAS Space Flight Award in 2-23 1983; he was a member of the Apollo 13 Mission Operations Team that 2-24 was presented the Medal of Freedom by President Nixon in 1970, and 2-25 he received a Federal Business Association Civil Servant of the 3-1 Year Award in 1974; now, therefore, be it 3-2 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 3-3 74th Legislature, hereby commend George Abbey for his superior 3-4 accomplishments and his distinguished career and extend to him best 3-5 wishes for the years ahead; and, be it further 3-6 RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for him as 3-7 an expression of esteem from the Texas Senate. 3-8 ______________________________________ 3-9 President of the Senate 3-10 I hereby certify that the above 3-11 Resolution was adopted by the Senate 3-12 on April 11, 1995. 3-13 ______________________________________ 3-14 Secretary of the Senate 3-15 ______________________________________ 3-16 Member, Texas Senate 3-17 ______________________________________ 3-18 Member, Texas Senate 3-19 ______________________________________ 3-20 Member, Texas Senate