J. David Schweikle
Vice President, Retired
Delta Launch Services, Boeing
BSAE 1959
"My education at Purdue provided a broad range of educational tools for me to pursue my career in Aerospace. There is no doubt that my Purdue education was a factor in my career advancement."
J. David Schweikle consults on large expendable and reusable space launch vehicles to the aerospace industry since he retired from Boeing in 2004. His expertise and experience is in development and testing of large vehicle systems, program management, business development, propulsion development, zero-gravity environments and manned systems for space application.
Schweikle spent 45-plus years working for Douglas Missiles and Space, McDonnell Douglas and Boeing as each company merged with the previous. His range of programs over this period include the Boeing Delta IV/EELV development, launch vehicle commercial and government business development, sales and marketing, reusable launch vehicles DC-X and DC-XA, International Space Station, Saturn Apollo S-IV and SIVB and the Thor IRBM.
In September 2001, as VP of Delta Launch Services, Inc., he formed a new division in 1998 responsible for all Delta Commercial and Government Sales and Marketing. His sales team was responsible for bringing in over $5 billion in commercial and government sales.
He served as the Program Manager for the Delta IV/ Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Program. He was responsible for implementation of Commercial and USAF engineering, manufacturing, and development activities for five Delta IV launch vehicle configurations leading to the U.S. Air Force's selection of Boeing to produce the EELV/Delta IV family of expendable launch vehicles.
During his time with the company, Schweikle has served as Program Manager for the single-stage reusable rocket, the Delta Clipper-Experimental Advanced (DC-X/DC-XA), and as Chief Engineer and Deputy General Manager for the McDonnell Douglas portion of the International Space Station (ISS) and Space Station Freedom programs. Other responsible ISS positions included Director of Systems Engineering and Integration.
He served as Chief Engineer-Propulsion for the McDonnell Douglas Missile and Space Systems Division (MSSD), directing propulsion design, analysis and testing for MSSD major programs including the Delta Launch Vehicles.
Schweikle joined Douglas Missiles and Space Division in 1959, working on propulsion GSE, design analysis, and pressurization systems. He played a major role in the development of the liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen propulsion systems on the Saturn S-IV and S-IVB upper stages for the Apollo Moon Program.
Schweikle received his bachelor's in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University in 1959 and a MS degree in Engineering from UCLA in 1965.
He has served on the AIAA Liquid Propulsion Technical Committee (1978-81) and the AIAA Solid Rocket Technical Committee (1984-87).
Schweikle was awarded the NASA Public Service Medal in April, 1994, for his contributions to the International Space Station transition from Space Station Freedom.