The White House, in a highly anticipated move, announced yesterday that former NASA astronaut Charles Frank Bolden Jr. was nominated by US President Barack Obama as the next administrator of the American space agency. Speculations about this decision have persisted for many months, but, until yesterday, nothing was certain. Obama also proposed former NASA official and consultant Lori Garver as Bolden's deputy, but the two need the Senate's approval before they can take on their new responsibilities. Garver was also the space affairs consultant for Obama's campaign.
“We're soon going to have a new NASA Administrator, I can't disclose it to you, because I've got to have hoopla on the announcement back here on Earth. But I can assure you that it's a high priority of mine to restore that sense of wonder that space can provide and to make sure that we've got a strong sense of mission, not just within NASA but for the country as a whole,” Obama told the seven-astronaut crew aboard the space shuttle Atlantis, during a private conversation they had on Wednesday. The dialog was later aired on NASA TV, and became available to the public.
On May 19th, Bolden visited the White House, and met with President Obama to discuss details of the position. Born on August 19th, 1946 in Columbia, South Carolina, the potential NASA administrator is a retired U.S. Marine Corps major general, and also a former NASA astronaut, having flown on four missions – STS-61C (in 1986), STS-31 (in 1990), STS-45 (in 1992) and STS-60 (in 1994). He logged more than 680 hours of space time, and flew his first two missions as a pilot. For the other two, he was appointed commander.
The NASA Administrator position is one of significant importance, but it has been left without a designated successor ever since the former administrator, Michael Griffin, resigned from the post in late January. Controversies now surround the space agency, mostly regarding its new Mars rover and the tremendous costs involved with retiring the shuttle fleet by 2010 and completing Project Constellation by 2015. If confirmed, Bolden will occupy this position in one of the least favorable times in recent history, and will have to decide the path the agency will take for the next four years.
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