Born in Inglewood California; married with two children. Received BS in aeronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an MS in aerospace engineering from the University of Oklahoma. He was selected in MOL Group 3 in 1967. When the MOL was cancelled, he left the Air Force and became a staff member of the National Aeronautics and Space Council. When the Council was dissolved in 1973, he rejoined the Air Force and was made Inspector General, Air Force Systems Command, Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. The next served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Air Force Systems Command, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio. He eventually retired as a three-star general, head of the space shuttle program, and finally director of the Strategic Defense Initiative. He said that he would have traded the stars for a flight into space.