William O’Hara

Bill has a uniquely combined education with an undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering and graduate degree in geophysics from the University of Cincinnati and the University of Houston, respectively.  He spent 12 years working in NASA’s International Space Station program as a maintenance, mechanisms and life support systems  procedure author, crew instructor and flight controller.  An additional 6 years were spent as a lead project engineer for the Orion program working on the development of the Orion Life Support Systems.  He is currently a member of the Orion mission control team preparing to support that spacecraft’s upcoming flight test program.  Bill’s background also includes the study of Martian valley networks, as well as exploration mission concept development targeting the methane seas of Titan. A veteran of NASA’s human test subject program, he was a member of the 3rd crew ever to live in NASA’s HERA habitat, and flew on nine flights aboard the KC135 Vomit Comet.  His focus on the Advisory Board will be crew operations and procedure development.