George Nield

George Nield is Chairman of the Global Spaceport Alliance, the voice of the growing global spaceport community, he has over 35 years of aerospace experience with the Air Force, at NASA, and in private industry. George Nield served as the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from 2008-2018. Under his leadership, the office had the mission to ensure public safety during commercial launch and re-entry activities, as well as to encourage, facilitate, and promote commercial space transportation. Prior to joining the FAA, George Nield was a Senior Scientist for the Advanced Programs Group at Orbital Sciences Corporation, where he worked on the Space Transportation Architecture Study, the 2nd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle Program, and the Orbital Space Plane. Previously, he served as Manager of the Flight Integration Office for the Space Shuttle Program at the NASA Johnson Space Center, and later worked on both the Shuttle/Mir Program and the International Space Station Program. While on active duty with the Air Force, he was an assistant professor and research director at the USAF Academy. As a flight test engineer for the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, he supported the A-7 DIGITAC program, the YC-14 Advanced Medium STOL Transport, and the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests.           
A graduate of the USAF Academy, he holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University and an MBA from George Washington University. He is also a flight test engineering graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School. In March of 2022 he flew to space as a private astronaut onboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.