Charles Edward Cockrell

Charles Edward Cockrell, 82, of Yorktown, VA, passed away peacefully on July 24, 2025 at home.
He was born at his grandparents' home in Burgess, VA to the late James T. and Gertrude F. Cockrell. He was also preceded in death by his two brothers Robert S. Cockrell and James Thomas Cockrell, Jr.
Charles was married to the former Barbara Jane Moore of Yorktown, VA. They had been married for 58 years. He is also survived by his son Charles E. Cockrell Jr. (Drew) of Newport News, and his daughter Suzanne Cockrell Giersch (Chris) of Virginia Beach, as well as his grandchildren Matthew Cockrell, Megan Cockrell, and Adam Giersch and sister Carolyn Cockrell Melesky.
Charles graduated from Hampton High School in 1960 and after a brief tour in the National guard and Army he went on to the NASA Apprentice School as a Sheetmetal Worker. Halfway through the Apprentice School he was selected to continue for a fifth year as an Engineering Draftsman. While still in the Apprentice School Charles started College in Night School. He attended both Christopher Newport and Old Dominion University. He received a BS in Engineering and a Master of Engineering Management from Old Dominion University. NASA awarded Charles a Fellowship to the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University where he received a mid-career certificate in Public Administration. After returning from Syracuse University, he went back to Old Dominion University where he continued his night school studies towards a Doctor of Engineering Management.
Charles was also active in the community through the Hampton Roads Jaycees where he rose to the position of President of the local chapter as well as several statewide positions. He was named the Peninsula's Outstanding Young Leader and served on the United Way's Planning and Research Division. He was also active in housing programs for lower income individuals and was co-chairman of an effort to raise $200K for mobile cardiac units for the City of Hampton.
At NASA he rose from an apprentice Sheetmetal worker to retire as a Chief Engineer. Along the way he worked on numerous tasks relating to both space and aeronautics. Upon his civil service retirement in 1999 he helped form the Risk Management Corporation which developed NASA's Risk Management program. He continued to work full time for NASA as a contractor for 25 years. After his retirement from Risk Management Corporation, he served as a consultant to aerospace contractors in the development of proposals for NASA work. He continues to serve on advisory boards for these corporations.
As a civil servant he received the NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal for his work on the Main Drive Fan Blades for the National Transonic Facility, the Vice-Presidential National Performance Review Hammer Award for his work on a team for "Making Government Work Better and Cost Less", numerous Outstanding Performance Awards, Group Achievement Awards, and the NASA-Langley Outstanding Volunteer Service Award. He was also assigned to Mishap Investigation Teams both at Langley and NASA wide. He authored several significant publications on Moon and Mars Transfer Vehicles, on Requirements for On-Orbit Operations and In-Space Infrastructure, and In-Space Assembly Servicing Operations. As a contractor he received an Ames Research Center Honor Award, and a Goddard Space Flight Center Exceptional Achievement Award, as well as numinous project awards.
Charles spent a year working at NASA Headquarters as an Assistant to the Director for Enterprise Safety and Mission Assurance where he Led Process Verification Reviews of Safety and Mission Assurance activities at NASA Field Centers, he developed an on-line, NASA-wide training and education program on limiting the potential for orbital debris generation by space structures, Led a sub-team to "independently assess the readiness of both United Space Alliance (USA) and NASA flight-critical processes to safely accommodate an increased flight rate of the Space Shuttle while maintaining current staffing levels and skill mix, conducted a Safety and Mission Assurance review of the X-38/Crew Return Vehicle for Space Station as part of an Independent Assessment Team headed by NASA's Independent Assessment Office, and Conducted a study for the NASA Administrator's Faster, Better, Cheaper approach to procuring spacecraft.

As a contractor he participated on several space projects including the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission to the moon, The Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) which proved the concept of communication between Earth and the Lunar surface with a laser beam, the SWIFT Development Test and Launch Team, the Express Logistics Carrier, as well as numerous others. He also developed a Fundamentals of Project Management Course and several Risk Management Courses. He taught each of these classes at other NASA Centers around the Country.
Charles was also a guest lecturer for the Joint Institute for Advance of Flight Sciences, A mentor for the Virginia Governor's School for the Gifted, an Adjunct Instructor for the Engineering Management Department of Old Dominion University, a Lecturer at the NASA Program Project Management Institute, and an Adjunct Instructor in the Math, Engineering and Technologies Department at Thomas Nelson Community College. He has also served as an advisor to the Space Physics Group at Princeton University in the development of the SWAPI Instrument for the IMAP spacecraft. He also served as a Safety and Mission Assurance lead for the Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) Project at Goddard Space Flight Center.
In his spare time Charles enjoyed golf and watching and officiating in swim meets with his kids and grandkids. He and his wife enjoyed yearly cruises for 20 years in the Caribbean and the Panama Canal.
A memorial service is scheduled for Wednesday, August 6th at 1 PM at Zion United Methodist Church. Burial will be private.