Administrator Charles Bolden?

By Nancy Atkinson - May 14, 2009 at 9:07 PM UTC | Space Policy
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[/caption] NBC news is reporting former astronaut Charles F. Bolden Jr. will meet with President Obama in the Oval Office on Monday morning and likely will be appointed the new NASA administrator. NASA has been without an administrator since January, and needs leadership as it faces big changes in the next few years, including the retirement of the space shuttle and the development of replacement vehicles to send humans to space. Bolden has flown four times to space, with more than 680 hours in Earth orbit. If appointed, he would be the first African-American administrator at NASA.

Bolden is regarded as a quiet man but not shy. He made his first spaceflight 23 years ago, and flew on the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope.

Florida senator Bill Nelson flew in space with Bolden in 1986, just before the Challenger tragedy. "Charlie's credentials are top-notch," Nelson said. Former administrator Michael Griffin said Bolden would be "perfect" for the job.

Source:

MSNBC

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com