David S. Eccles serves as the deputy director of the Center for Space Policy and Strategy and as the general manager of the National Space Systems Engineering Division at The Aerospace Corporation. In these roles, he is responsible for technical support to senior space decisionmakers in the Pentagon, including the Space Development Agency.

With more than 38 years in the space business, Eccles’ career includes support for the Space Force, Air Force, Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), intelligence community, missile defense, NASA, and commercial space. His expertise includes space systems engineering, ground systems, thermal and structural analysis, software development, and modeling and simulation of spacecraft and launch vehicles.

He is an AIAA Associate Fellow and has been recognized several times for outstanding support to National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) programs. Eccles was also recognized for his support to the Challenger mishap investigation in 1986.