Raymond Beach is a retired NASA power systems engineer with more than 44 years work experience at NASA in power systems, beginning with power component and system development work done in support of the ERDA and DOE energy programs at the Lewis Research Center in the late 1970s. This work included development of motor drives for electric and hybrid electric vehicles and flywheel energy storage for vehicle power peaking and brake energy recovery. During the 1980s and 1990s he worked on the space station advanced development program as the lead testbed engineer responsible for development, integration, and test of AC and DC components used on the space station power system. Subsequent work involved research and development of high speed flywheels for use on low earth orbit spacecraft to provide integrated energy storage and attitude control. The flywheel work led to the successful demonstration of a 60,000 rpm composite flywheel system suspended on low loss magnetic bearings. In 2008 and 2009 he worked as a program manager at DARPA on the conceptual design and analysis of power beaming used for space propulsion systems. Activities subsequent to the DARPA work include the development of advanced power components and systems for aircraft hybrid electric propulsion, and the Principal Technologist for Power and Energy Storage at the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters.
