Ralph E. Finney Jr. was born in Denver, Colorado in 1932. He attended the University of Colorado and graduated in 1954 with a BS degree in Aeronautical Engineering. His career in the planning, design, and test of AVIATION and SPACE EXPLORATION related systems and services spanned 40 years until his retirement from The Aerospace Corporation in 1994.
After graduation, Mr. Finney joined Douglas Aircraft Company in Santa Monica, California as a Flight Test Engineer. At Douglas, he participated in the testing and evaluation of the aerodynamic flight characteristics of new commercial and military aircraft. Other AVIATION related accomplishments during his career included statewide and local airport system planning and design for numerous state and local government clients.
The majority of Mr. Finney's SPACE related career was spent with The Aerospace Corporation of El Segundo, California. He participated in the definition of requirements and systems engineering analyses of many weapon system, launch vehicle and space utilization concepts, including the Manned Orbiting Laboratory. Later as the Aerospace technical representative at an Air Force contractor's facility, he participated in the design, test and delivery of complex space launch vehicles and satellites of national importance.