Gary Hendricks
Mission Assurance Manager
Launch Services Program
Kennedy Space Center

Gary Hendricks is the Mission Assurance Manager at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for the Scientific Satellite (SCISAT) mission. He and the Safety & Mission Assurance Office (SMAO) are responsible for NASA oversight of Aura launch vehicle safety and mission assurance processes.

Gary was born in Atlanta, Ga., and grew up both in Georgia and North Carolina. After graduating from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1987 with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, he went to work as an aircraft design engineer on the USAF C-17 Globemaster III.

Later Gary came to NASA/KSC, working as the NASA Fuel Cell Lead Engineer for the Space Shuttle Orbiter Vehicle, OV-103. He transferred from Shuttle Systems Engineering to Payload Safety Engineering, performing ground safety assessments on ELV, Space Station, and other Space Shuttle payloads. After relocating to the Goddard Space Flight Center, Gary performed both flight and ground safety engineering for Shuttle Carrier Payloads.

Upon returning to KSC, Gary began working for the Launch Services Program, where he presently works as Mission Assurance Manager on selected Expendable Launch Vehicle missions. He presently lives in Cape Canaveral and likes travel, history and bicycling.