BSEE ‘86
When Tim Dunn was growing up in Arab, Alabama, he dreamed of being an engineer and working in the space program. He is currently the launch director for NASA’s Launch Services Program at the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Dunn began his career as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from The University of Alabama in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. While a student, he served as cadet corps commander at UA’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 10. In 1992, he earned a master’s degree in space operations from the Air Force Institute of Technology in Dayton, Ohio.
In between earning his degrees, Dunn worked as a Global Positioning System satellite analysis officer analyzing and updating the satellite navigation data at the GPS Master Control Station in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
In 1993, he became a Titan IV Air Force Launch Controller at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. At AFLC, Dunn directed all spacecraft mission planning and launch campaign activities. He served on launch teams successfully launching eight Titan IV missions in a three-year period.
Dunn began working for The Boeing Company in 1996 as an avionics engineer at CCAFS. He was a launch-day guidance engineer and performed guidance testing for 48 Delta rockets.
That same year, Dunn became a range operations commander and flight commander in the Florida Air National Guard at Patrick Air Force Base and held the position until 2007.
He joined NASA’s Launch Services Program at KSC in 2000 as a Delta II avionics and flight controls engineer. In 2003, Dunn became the NASA Delta II vehicle systems engineer and led the launch team in assuring technical flight readiness for 17 high-profile NASA missions. In 2009, he became LSP’s certification manager and led the team that planned certification for NASA’s next generation of rockets.
Dunn was selected to be LSP’s launch director in 2011 and has led the NASA launch team in numerous successful missions. He plans, implements and directs launch campaigns and countdowns for NASA’s science and robotic spacecraft.
Throughout his career, Dunn has worked on more than 115 launch missions. He has earned several awards including the 2019 Nelson P. Jackson Aerospace Award for the launch team, 2015 NASA Exceptional Achievement Award and 2007 Air Force Meritorious Service Medal.
Dunn and his wife, Julie, live in Merritt Island, Florida. The couple has two children. Michael graduated from UA in 2017 with a civil engineering degree, and Gracie graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2020 with an industrial engineering degree.