Had Been Diagnosed With Pancreatic Cancer About A Year Ago

The former head of the FAA's commercial space transportation office passed away unexpectedly last week following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Patricia Grace Smith had not widely shared her diagnosis, and news of her passing reportedly came as a shock to the commercial space industry. Space News reports that Smith had appeared to be in good health in public appearances as recently as April.

Smith retired from the FAA in early 2008 after serving 11 years as the associate administrator for the agency's Office of Commercial Space Transportation. She was the first real associate administrator to hold that position after the formerly independent function of the U.S. DOT was absorbed by the FAA.

Smith is credited with leading the development of FAA regulations covering the reentry of reusable launch vehicles in 1999, as well as regulations governing commercial human spaceflight in 2005.

After retiring from the FAA, Smith worked as a consultant for several commercial space ventures including Virgin Galactic. She was also chair of the commercial space committee of the NASA advisory council for several years.

According to her bio on the website for the NASA Advisory Council:

"In an era of unprecedented private sector progress toward commercial human spaceflight, Smith worked hard to foster an environment where safety always comes first and innovation can flourish.

During her career at the FAA and DOT, Smith was instrumental in the growth and change that the U.S. commercial launch industry has experienced, facilitating both technological and infrastructure developments and initiating and fostering greater cooperation and partnerships between aviation and space functions in the agency.

During Smith’s service at the FAA, key milestones were achieved that include the Mojave Air and Spaceport becoming the first inland Commercial Spaceport licensed by the agency, and the launch of the X-Prize winning, historic SpaceShipOne, a launch licensed by the FAA. Smith also oversaw the development of rules for human space flight mandated by congressional passage of the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004.

FMI: www.nasa.gov/offices/nac/members/Smith-bio.html