Bradley W. Smith is the Director of Launch Services within the Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. He is responsible for providing strategic guidance, policy direction, and oversight to NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), which manages the agency’s commercial launch service efforts placing high value scientific, weather and communication satellites, and other robotic payloads, into space for NASA and the nation’s civil sector. Additionally, he manages the agency’s Flight Planning Board, ensuring timely authority to proceed is given to launch service acquisitions as well as ensuring NASA missions are deconflicted prior to going to the launch range for approval. Prior to his current position, he served as LSP’s chief of staff, reporting directly to the program manager where he was responsible for LSP’s commercial launch vehicle acquisition strategy and led the program’s integration into NASA’s Artemis campaign.

His previous experience includes serving as directorate lead counsel to the Assistant Associate of NASA’s former Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, where he was responsible for the provision of policy and legal advice to the entire directorate, working on matters as diverse as heading up strategic sourcing initiatives, aiding in the negotiation of Soyuz seats with Roscosmos, developing policy for NASA’s purchase of the Electron launch vehicle, and developing NASA’s acquisition strategy for the agency’s Deep Space Gateway. He also served as program counsel to LSP for over seven years. Bradley began his NASA career in 2009 with the Office of the Chief Counsel at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

He has received numerous achievement and performance awards throughout his career, including the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, NASA Silver Achievement Medal, and numerous Honor Awards. He holds bachelor’s degrees in political science and psychology from the University of Georgia as well as a Juris Doctor with an emphasis in space policy from the University of Mississippi School of Law.