Paul Scully-Power

In June 1984, Scully-Power was chosen by NASA to be a Payload Specialist (known among the crew affectionately as a blanket counter) on the 13th Shuttle mission, which would study Earth Sciences. His space flight STS-41-G Challenger (October 5–13, 1984) was launched from and returned to land at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. STS-41-G was the first mission with a 7-person crew, and the first to demonstrate American orbital fuel transfer. During the 8-day flight, the crew deployed the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, conducted scientific observations of the earth with the OSTA-3 pallet and Large Format Camera, and demonstrated potential satellite refueling with an EVA and associated hydrazine transfer. At mission conclusion, Scully-Power had traveled over 3.4 million miles in 133 Earth orbits, and logged over 197 hours in space.

His role was to investigate spiral eddies, which at the time were thought to be rare. He was able to photograph them with an ordinary camera, and show that they were ubiquitous.[8]

NASA initially expected him to shave his beard before spaceflight, but allowed it after he was able to demonstrate that it didn't affect his helmet's seal.[9]

Scully-Power became the CTO of Tenix Group in 2004,[6] and in 2007 was appointed chairman and CEO of SensorConnect Inc., a Silicon Valley high-tech company. He was formerly the CTO of the Tenix Group, Australia's largest Defence & Technology contractor.[10]

Scully-Power has extensive commercial, government and academic experience in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and is widely recognised in the fields of defence & national security, aviation & aerospace, marine science, communications & systems analysis, and education.[10]

Scully-Power has served as a director of a number of public and private corporate and advisory boards worldwide.

Scully-Power is past chairman of the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority[11] and the Federal Government's International Space Advisory Group, a former Chancellor of Bond University (Australia's largest private university), and was the inaugural Chairman of the Queensland Premier's Science and Technology Council. Prior to that he spent over twenty years in the United States where he managed and led many high technology and defence industry programs. He served with the U.S. Navy, NASA, the Pentagon, and the White House, where he was the head of a Government-Industry partnership for the development of advanced communications systems as part of the White House National Technology Strategy Program. He was also responsible for the funding of major programs at universities and research institutions on behalf of the U.S. government. Additionally, he held the Distinguished Chair of Environmental Acoustics, was a research associate at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, chairman of Membership of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, served on the University & College Accreditation Board, and was president of the Fort Trumbull Federal Credit Union. Before going to America, he was the inaugural head of the Royal Australian Navy's Oceanographic Group, deploying to sea on 26 cruises and qualifying as a naval ship's diver.[12]

Scully-Power was the first president of the U.N. International Commission on Space Oceanography. He is U.S. Air Force qualified for full pressure suit flying, and was a flight crew instructor in the Astronaut Office, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. Scully-Power is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a Liveryman of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators, and a Freeman of the City of London.[12]

He is involved in many business and community groups through his roles as patron of the Australian Aviation Museum, the Royal Australian Navy Laboratory Association, and the League of Ancient Mariners; past vice president of the Naval Warfare Officers’ Association; a member of the International Trade and Government Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and a director of the Australia Youth Trust set up by Princess Diana. He is also a founding member of the advisory board of Environment Business Australia. Scully-Power served for five years on the Australian Trade Commission, and for eight years on the Australian Institute of Company Directors.[12] A larger than life-size oil painting of Dr Scully-Power hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.[4]

He was an advocate for the NSW bid to host the Australian Space Agency.[11]