Patti Grace Smith, one of the leading minds of commercial space travel, has passed after battling pancreatic cancer at the age of 68. Ms. Smith was a close friend of the Tom Joyner Morning Show and the Joyner family, and an inspiration to other technological innovators.
Smith was born Patricia Camille Jones November 10, 1947 in Tuskegee, Ala. As a young woman, Smith was among the handful of Black students that integrated all-white schools across Tuskegee and Alabama. She graduated from Tuskegee Institute (now University) with a degree in English and began a career in broadcasting.
Shifting gears, Smith embarked upon her government career with the Federal Communications Commission, which included top administrative posts. She then joined the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation in 1994, and became its deputy associate administrator in 1995. Smith came to the FAA without much experience in aviation, but her mental aptitude enabled her to learn the complexities of the field in record time.
Several figures, such as PayPal co-founder and Tesla founder Elon Musk, credit Smith’s passion for commercial space travel as the catalyst for their entrepreneurial efforts. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also looked to Smith as an inspiration for his Blue Origin space transportation company. Blue Origin is staffed with some of Smith’s former FAA colleagues as well.
In 2004, Smith witnessed one of the greatest accomplishments during her FAA tenure when the launch of SpaceShipOne took place. It was the first private craft to achieve manned spaceflight. Before then, her office only licensed unmanned ships to head into space.
The launch took place in Mojave, Calif, with Smith calling the event an “unparalleled thrill” in an interview with The Washington Post. The aerospace trailblazer retired from government service in 2008, founding her aerospace firm, Patti Grace Smith Consulting, shortly after.
Smith is survived by her husband, John Clay Smith Jr.; a son from her previous marriage; Eugene Grace; three children from her second marriage, Stager Smith, Michael Smith, and Michelle Davis; a sister; a half-brother; and 12 grandchildren. She is also the godmother of Tom Joyner’s son, Tom Joyner Jr.
(Photo: Future In Review)
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