Personal: Male. Born in USA.

Charles W. Cook served during the 1970s and 1980s as Deputy Under Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Air Force in the Plans, Policy and Operations of Space Systems; in the Office of Secretary of Defense as Director for Defensive Systems; as well as in positions in the Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, and various aerospace companies. Since retiring from formal government service in 1988, Cook worked as a consultant to the Institute for Defense Analyses, ANSER, the Defense Science Board, and several other aerospace organizations in areas related to U.S. and foreign space activities.