James R. Thompson, Jr.

James Robert Thompson Jr. (March 6, 1936 – November 7, 2017), known as J.R. Thompson, was the fifth director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center located in Huntsville, Alabama. He served as director from September 29, 1986, to July 6, 1989. Thompson also served as NASA's deputy director from July 6, 1989, to November 8, 1991.

Early life and education Born in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1936, Thompson graduated from Druid Hills High School in Atlanta in 1954. He was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1958 and a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Florida in 1963. He has completed all course work at the University of Alabama toward a Ph.D. in fluid mechanics.

Career Thompson served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy from 1958 to 1960 and was stationed at Green Cove Springs, Florida, as an administrative officer in the Atlantic Fleet.

Awards Thompson was awarded the NASA Medal for Exceptional Service in 1973 for his work on Skylab, and NASA Medals for Distinguished Service in 1981 for this work on the Space Shuttle main engine and in 1988 for his work on the 51-L Data and Design Analysis Task Force. President Ronald Reagan conferred on Thompson the rank of Meritorious Senior Government Executive twice, in 1982 and in 1987. He was one of five members of NASA's Return to Flight Team awarded the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy for 1989.

In 2018, Orbital ATK announced that its Cygnus spacecraft destined for the International Space Station on resupply mission OA-9 would be named the S.S. J.R. Thompson in Thompson's honor. The spacecraft was successfully launched on May 21, 2018, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia on an Orbital ATK Antares 230 launch vehicle and docked to the International Space Station's Node 1 Nadir Common Berthing Mechanism on May 24, 2018, by the Canadarm2 robotic manipulator.