ROY ESTESS.wmv

Roy S. Estess is a native of Mississippi, and grew up in and around Tylertown, Ms. He attended the Walthall County Public School system where he graduated from Tylertown High School in 1956. He then attended and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Mississippi State University, and, later, completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Business.

After graduating from MSU in 1960, Mr. Estess was employed in civil service with the U.S. Air Force repairing Vietnam era airplanes at Brookley Air Force Base in Mobile, Al. In 1966, at the invitation of a collage colleague, he moved his family back to Picayune, MS., and joined the NASA team as a test engineer assigned to the SII (second) stage of the Saturn V booster rocket at what was then called the Mississippi Test Facility (MTF) located in Hancock County Ms., as part of our nation's space program.

In the early 70's as the Apollo program came to a close, NASA management began diversifying the MTF installation. Mr. Estess was given the new task to search for new and compatible federal and state agencies to share in the vast facilities and diverse programs starting up at the center. Today, this effort continues, as there are now more than 30 difference and diverse agencies located at the Stennis Space Center.
In the mid 70's, Mr. Estess was named head of the Applications Engineering Office that managed the relationship between NASA at SSC, the new agencies and the public sector, and later served as deputy of the Earth Resources Laboratory. His organizational and management skills were further developed during his tenure as director of the Regional Applications Program, a NASA technology transfer program that provided an innovative approach in assisting the 17 Sun Belt states with the utilizing of remote sensing technology in applications that include developing techniques for managing natural resource, crop rotation, timber harvesting, and flood water control programs via satellite imagery data and information.
In 1980, Estess was selected as the deputy director of SSC when the facility was known as the National Space Technologies Laboratories (NSTL). As deputy director, Mr. Estess was asked to handle several significant tasks that led to the further development of the center, these to include development and support of the SSME (Space Shuttle Main Engine) testing program. He served for three years as the Agency's Equal Opportunity officer, interim director of the Earth Resources Laboratory, and participated in various engineering & management review committees during the initial years of the Space Shuttle Program.
In 1989, Mr. Estess was named the Director of the Stennis Space Center, NASA lead center for propulsion and Rocket engine testing and development located in south Mississippi, a position he still holds today.
From March of 2001 to April 2002, Mr. Estess was appointed to the position of (Acting) Director of the Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX., of which his responsibilities included Chairmanship of the Flight Readiness Review committee which oversees the launch of a Space Shuttle fleet, lead NASA manager responsible for hardware and astronauts during flight and on orbit, Development and construction of the International Space Station, and oversight for the selection, training and development of the NASA's astronaut corp.
During his 37 year tenure with NASA, Mr. Estess has played a key role in many NASA successes, as well as the development of various programs and policy, and has receive numerous awards for his achievements and dedicated service. Most notable: He is the recipient of not one, but three Presidential Meritorious Achievement Awards presented to him by the Regan, Bush, and Clinton administrations recognizing him as an outstanding U.S. Government Employee of the Year. He has also served as the special assistant to the NASA Administrator assigned to headquarters in Washington D.C., and served as co-chairman of the senior management team that put NASA back together after the Challenger disaster. He has been recognized as an Outstanding Citizen of the Year for the City of Picayune, is a past deacon of the First Baptist Church of Picayune, and is an avid support of the Boy Scouts of America.
After 42 years of civil service, Mr. Estess retired as the Director of the Stennis Space Center, SSC, MS., NASA's premier center for rocket engine development and testing.

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[TheBoleys]

Sadly, Roy passed away this year. He was really a good guy. I worked under him(way under him) for over a decade. He would often pop into the cafeteria at Stennis and sit not with the big wigs but with the front line engineers and technicians. If anything, this video really understates his contribution as a public servant to the success of Stennis, NASA, and the USA, not to mention the things he did for the community. We miss you Roy.