[3] He graduated from Graceland College in 1976 and received a PhD in history in 1982 from Louisiana State University.

[2] From 1982 to 1990, Launius held several positions as a civilian historian with the United States Air Force.

From 2006-2013 he was Senior Curator, and from 2013-2016 Launius was Associate Director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs at the same institution.

[5] Launius contributed space policy analysis in the wake of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board 2003 report.

He won both the David Woolley Evans and Beatrice Evans Biography Award (1989) and the John Whitmer Historical Association Best Book Award for his work on Mormon history, Joseph Smith III: Pragmatic Prophet.