Head of ‘Star Wars’ Program Retiring
Lt. Gen. James A. Abrahamson, chief of the “Star Wars” missile defense project, will retire in February because of uncertainty about where the controversial program is headed.
“A new administration will undoubtedly have different ideas or approaches to SDI,” the three-star Air Force general said in a memo to Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci requesting retirement. “Therefore, I reluctantly have concluded that the program will best be served by allowing new leadership to represent new policy and direction.”
Abrahamson, 55, will depart on Feb. 1, 1989, after 33 years in the Air Force, the last four as director of the Strategic Defense Initiative, as the “Star Wars” program is formally known.
Abrahamson has been a test pilot, Vietnam War fighter pilot and astronaut. He ran the space shuttle program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from 1981 to 1984, overseeing its first 10 successful launchings. He took over as the first chief of the Strategic Defense Initiative office in 1984.
Abrahamson will be replaced by Lt. Gen. George L. Monahan Jr., 54, Air Force deputy assistant secretary for acquisition.
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