returning to the Moon and landing on Mars. In July 1991, Abbey was appointed senior director for civil space policy for the National Space Council in the Executive Office of the President. President George H. W. Bush reestablished, by executive order, the National Space Council, led by Vice President Dan Quayle. Part of its job was to find a direction for America’s space initiatives in a time when the nation would no longer be engaged in a technology race with the Soviet Union. The Council began to see several unique opportunities for engaging the former Soviet Union in a space station program. In 1992, he was named special assistant to the NASA administrator. In 1994 Abbey was named deputy director of the Johnson Space Center and was subsequently selected as the JSC director in 1996. As director of Johnson Space Center until 2001, he served as an integral part of the NASA Shuttle-Mir Program and provided crucial oversight, management, and guidance in the first phase of the International Space Station. Abbey was opposed to the proposed Space Station Freedom because of the large cost and impracticality of the station. A small team of administrators and scientists including Abbey, John Young, Thomas P. Stafford and Max Faget were called to devise a cheaper alternative to Freedom. This team proposed a new modular space station in April 1993. He helped later enlist partner nations to share the adventure — and the costs — of implementing those plans for a permanent outpost in Earth orbit. Honors In 2002, Abbey was selected as a distinguished alumnus of the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology. His honors and awards include the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, three NASA Distinguished Service Medals and the 1970 Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented by President Richard M. Nixon for his distinguished civilian service in peacetime. In addition, he was the recipient of the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement's National Space Trophy in 1997. In 1998 he was awarded the Robert R. Gilruth Award in recognition of his accomplishments and dedication to human spaceflight. In 2007 a special category was included for the Sir Arthur Clarke Award which was presented by and named after Abbey. Publications Transcript: "Lost in Space: The Need for a Definitive U.S. Space Policy, Jan 27 2014 U.S. - Russia Space Policy, Sept 13 2013 Spotlight on the U.S. Space Program: