Major General Robert S. Dickman, the former commander of the 45 Space Wing and Director of the Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral, FL is joining the Spaceport Camden Steering Committee.  An executive director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and corresponding member of the International Academy of Astronautics, General Dickman also served as vice commander of what is now the 50^th Space Wing at Schriever AFB, CO, responsible for operating all Air Force on-orbit satellite systems; Director of Air Force Space Systems in the Pentagon; the first Department of Defense Space Architect; the senior military officer at the National Reconnaissance Office and the Deputy for Military Space in the office of the Undersecretary of the Air Force. 

During his tenure at Cape Canaveral, General Dickman oversaw twenty Titan IV, Atlas II and Delta II launches from Air Force launch sites on Cape Canaveral and provided range and range safety support to ten Shuttle missions from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, all successful.

"Very few people in the world can say they've launched 20 orbital class rockets and even fewer were involved with ten successful Space Shuttle launches," said County Administrator and Spaceport Camden Project Lead, Steve Howard. "We are beyond fortunate that General Dickman calls Camden County home and has agreed to lend his expertise to this project. I can't think of anyone else with as much knowledge and experience as he has. General Dickman is going to be an invaluable resource to Spaceport Camden."

Major General Dickman was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. and raised in New Jersey. In 1966, he entered the Air Force right out of the ROTC program at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. He later earned a master's degree in space physics from the Air Force Institute of Technology, as well as a master's degree in management from Salve Regina College.  He is now retired and currently resides in St. Mary's, Camden County, Georgia, with his wife Barbara. He and his wife have one son, Tad, who lives in Jacksonville, Florida.

When asked about this opportunity, General Dickman said, "Having overseen the Eastern Range for the United States Air Force and been involved with commercial space for the past decade I can attest to the growing launch demand in the commercial space sector. A dedicated, commercial, vertical launch facility on the east coast is a valuable asset for Coastal Georgia and for the space launch industry."