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Bios
Founder and Editor – Jim Hillhouse
Jim Hillhouse earned a BA in History and a BSE and MSE in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, with his Master’s work focused on mission planning and orbital mechanics. Jim Hillhouse worked as an undergraduate and graduate assistant with the GNC group at the Center for Space Research, a programmer at JPL’s Navigation Section, and as the McCain 2008 campaign’s Space Industry Coordinator on the Space Coast during the 2008 Presidential Campaign.
Since 1990, Jim has run Shelton, an energy asset management company. For fun, Jim also writes iOS apps as a form of relaxation, is a pilot (single-engine, land), and flies a Cirrus SR-20 GTS.
Contact: americaspace@me.com
Editor – Jason Rhian
Jason Rhian gained Bachelor’s Degrees in journalism and public relations from the University of South Florida and spent countless hours volunteering with NASA and other space groups to gain experience in the space industry. He has interned with NASA – twice, once at the Kennedy Space Center press site in 2007 and with NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in 2009.
Rhian has covered numerous launches, flown with the final space shuttle crew as they trained for their mission and reported live as President Obama visited Kennedy Space Center. His work has been published in Aviation Week & Space Technology, The Spaceport News and online at MSNBC.com, Space.com, SpaceRef.com, Spacevidcast.com and other websites. www.jasonrhian.com
Contact: jason@jasonrhian.com
Senior Photographer / Technical Lead – Alan Walters 
Alan Walters has been a photographer for about a decade. In the beginning he shot primarily pictures of wildlife. Living close to Kennedy Space Center and the adjacent Cape Canaveral Air Force Station brought a different type of flying creature to Alan’s attention – rockets. For some time he would coordinate with his friends that worked at the space center so he could get close – but he still wanted to get closer, to record the history he saw taking place along Florida’s Space Coast.
His opportunity came when he began working with a media outlet that covers space. This allowed him to be accredited for access to KSC. Alan has been photographing space-related events for the past five years and has begun working for AmericaSpace in a similar fashion. Alan works as a computer programmer in his day job, he writes automatic vehicle tracking software (GPS-based systems) – primarily for EMS first responders. www.awaltersphoto.com
Contact: alan@awaltersphoto.com
WRITERS
Senior Writer – Ben Evans
Ben Evans gained a Bachelor’s degree and a postgraduate certificate in education, from the University of Birmingham. Fascinated by space since childhood he published his first article in the British Interplanetary Society’s magazine, Spaceflight, in 1992. He has written extensively for the magazines Countdown and Astronomy Now.
Evans has written seven books for Springer-Praxis: NASA’s Voyager Missions, Space Shuttle Columbia, Space Shuttle Challenger and four volumes in a six-volume series to commemorate 50 years of human space exploration. The first volume, Escaping the Bonds of Earth, was nominated by the American Astronomical Society for its annual Emme Award in Astronautical Literature in 2010. Foothold in the Heavens, At Home in Space, Tragedies and Triumphs in Space (due 2012), Partners in Space(due 2012) and A New Century in Space (due 2013) will bring the history up to date with the end of the Shuttle era.
Writer – Christopher Paul
Christopher Paul has been interested in science from a young age. This passion crystallized upon reading Brian Greene’s The Elegant Universe. He pursued his dream in high school, before attending the Florida Institute of Technology. Initially he sought a degree in high-energy physics, but found it could not hold his interest. He eventually changed his major to space science, and found his true calling.
Christopher worked for the Florida Tech Crimson, the university newspaper, for several years. He spent most of that time as Sci/Tech Editor before stepping down to become Senior Space Correspondent. Christopher plans to complete his Bachelor’s in Space Science, then obtain doctoral degrees in Space Science and Space Systems Engineering. He is considering going into academic work and perhaps building instruments for interplanetary probes, or working for ULA or a similar company. His primary topics of interest are planetary science and Soviet space history.
Writer – Paul Scott Anderson
Paul Scott Anderson is a freelance writer with a life-long passion for space exploration and astronomy. His interest began in childhood, when he saw Carl Sagan’s Cosmos for the first time on TV. In elementary school, he would sometimes give astronomy presentations in class and did a space “book” and calendar as class projects.
After focusing on art and design through high school and college, and then following related pursuits, he decided to “return to his roots” and started his blog The Meridiani Journal in 2005, which is a chronicle of planetary exploration. While interested in all aspects of space exploration, his primary passion is planetary science. In 2011, he started writing about space on a freelance basis, and now also currently writes for AmericaSpace and Examiner.com. He has also done supplementary writing for the well-known iOS app Exoplanet. You can visit his personal blog here: The Meridiani Journal.
Writer – David Darling
David Darling has a PhD in astronomy from the University of Manchester, England. For the past 30 years he has been a full-time freelance science writer and is the author of some 50 book, including We Are Not Alone, Gravity’s Arc, The Complete Book of Spaceflight, and, his most recent, Megacatastrophes! Nine Strange Ways the World Could End.
David runs one of the most popular science and space websites in the world with more than 15 million visitors a year. He lectures widely, and has made numerous contributions to radio and TV shows. He lives in Dundee, Scotland. You can visit his personal blog here: The Worlds of David Darling.
Zero G Correspondent – Mike Killian
Mike Killian has been an avid photographer for 10 years; he has shot everything space-related on the Space Coast since moving to Florida in 2008. Mike’s intention was always to cover history in a big way, and that is exactly what he does.
Killian’s break came with Matthew Travis – Executive Director of the ARES Institute & Managing Editor of The Spacearium & Aerospace Florida. Travis recognized the talent & determination Killian had to offer. Finally able to show what he could do – Killian hit the ground running. He currently works covering the space program out of Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and also covers air shows and other aviation news across the state of Florida throughout the year. He is Vice President of Afterburn Productions of Florida, and Senior Staff Photographer for Zero-G News and Aerospace Florida Magazine.
Some highlights of his career thus far including standing 255 feet atop pad 39A with Atlantis weeks before the final shuttle launch, sitting on the flight deck of both shuttles Discovery and Endeavour, and most recently flying with World Advanced Aerobatics Champion Rob Holland to preview the 2011 Cocoa Beach Air Show. Feel free to visit his website – www.mikekillianphotography.com
Contact: mike7268@gmail.com
Writer – Emma Sylvester Brown
Emma Sylvester Brown earned a Master’s Degrees in mass communications from the University of South Florida. She has worked as a writer and editor for multiple publications and companies over the years and taught journalism classes at the University of South Florida as a part-time instructor.
Emma has assisted AmericaSpace prior to her providing the website with freelance articles. She has frequently consulted AmericaSpace on journalistic matters and provided assistance on a variety of other issues.
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Photographer – Julian Leek 
During the early 70’s and 80’s Julian Leek worked as a freelance photographer for the Miami Herald Newspaper, providing extensive coverage of Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base. Over the past 40 years Julian has built a comprehensive photo library on numerous launches and space-related events stretching back to the Apollo era. Julian’s photographs have been published in major newspapers, magazines, internet sites and books in England and America.
With the end of the space shuttle era, Julian focused his lens on the last shuttle flights from launch to landing. He is now following the retirement process that will end when the shuttles reach their individual museums. www.bluesawtooth.com
Contact: jleek@cfl.rr.com
Astronomy Photographer – Chris Hetlage
Chris Hetlage lives in Peachtree Corners Georgia. Chris has been a freelance photographer/astrophotographer for over 12 years. His photographic works have been published in leading astronomy publications. Chris owns and operates a remote controlled observatory located in Deerlick Astronomy Village. DAV is a distinctive dark-sky protected community of homes and observatories in central Georgia. Chris and his partners founded DAV in 2004 and has been featured on National Geographic TV, The New York Times and the Associated Press. DAV is THE premier dark sky observing site in the southeast.
Several years ago Chris became interested in the space shuttle launch photography, starting with STS-125, and collimating with pre-launch and launch photography of the final 3 shuttle launches in 2011. Chris was credentialed by NASA in 2011 and covered the final three shuttle launches as a contributing photographer for a major astronomy publication. These experiences, as well as his knowledge in deep space astrophography, brings an unique perspective to the AmericaSpace team. www.hetlage.com
Contact: chrishet@comcast.net
Photographer – Mark Usciak
Mark Usciak has been photographing America’s space program since the launch of Apollo 15 in 1971. Mark is a multiple Aviation Week and Space Technology photography contest winner, having won in 1995, 1998 and 2003. His work has also appeared in a wide range of other magazines since the early 80s. His work is highly regarded and has appeared in the halls of Congress in Washington D.C.
Mark covered the Space Shuttle program from its inception – to the final landing. He is now looking forward to detailing NASA’s efforts to send astronauts to destinations beyond the orbit of Earth. To accomplish this, he has joined AmericaSpace and frequently lends his experienced eye to our efforts.
Photographer – Mike Howard
Mike grew up on Florida’s Space Coast when rockets first started to fly from Cape Canaveral. His father worked at Kennedy Space Center, and one of Mike’s first photographs was the 1969 Moon launch of Apollo 11 on his dad’s Nikkormat.
Mike has been a professional photographer in Cocoa Beach for more than two decades, 10 years ago he opened his company full time. He has worked with Space Florida, SpaceX and other space-related firms in both the public and private sector. His work has been published in: Air and Space Magazine, Daily Aviator, Popular Science, Florida Today and other media publications. He is a member of Canon Professional Services (CPS), as well as Professional Photographers of America (PPA), The Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and the Convention and Visitors Bureau. You can visit Mike’s website here: Cocoa Beach Photography.
Contact: cocoabeachphoto@aol.com
VIDEO, GRAPHICS & SOCIAL MEDIA
Videographer – Mike Barrett
Mike was raised on a diet of Star Trek and Lost in Space, and graduated to the works of Isaac Asimov shortly after learning to read. He was glued to his old black and white TV during the 1960s for the Apollo missions watching history unfold from 6,000 miles away.
Space journalism for him started back in 2007 when he covered a Delta II GPS launch for www.PocketGPSWorld.com. Since that time he has been a frequent visitor to Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station where he visited all the historic launch pads and covered a number of missions from the end of the Shuttle Era to the latest ventures into our Solar System for www.Wired4Space.com.
In 2012, Wired4Space became an affiliate of AmericaSpace with the two groups working to help one another to better tell the space flight story.
Contact: mike@wired4space.com
Graphics Designer – Nathan Moeller 
Moeller graduated from Texas Tech University’s College of Architecture in 2008 and completed the graduate program in 2011. He covered the refueling stop of space shuttle Discovery at Rick Husband International Airport in 2009 after the orbiter had completed its mission to the International Space Station. Moeller also covered the build up to launch shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-132 in 2010 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Moeller joined Max Q Entertainment in 2009, leading the development of the website as well as document production streamlining, graphics work and aiding video production for missions STS-125 onward. He currently serves as the team’s lead graphics designer. www.maxqent.com
Contact: nathan@maxqent.com
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