James R. French is a prominent U.S. aerospace engineer. While working for different NASA contractors during the 1960s, he helped design, develop and test the rocket engines for the Apollo/Saturn launch vehicles and the Apollo Lunar Module that enabled humans to walk on the Moon. He then joined NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) where he worked on the Mariner, Viking, and Voyager missions. French is currently a director and engineering chief for the Golden Spike Company, which is planning commercial missions to the moon.