A new NASA administrator, finally?
Published on May 23, 2009 at 11:32 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under NASA, politics.
Michael Griffin, NASA’s previous top administrator, stepped down January 20, 2009. NASA has been without a top administrator ever since. Now, that does not mean that NASA has been aimless or without leadership. Christopher Scolese has been serving as acting administrator since Griffin stepped down. But, an acting administrator is not the same thing as an administrator. It sends the wrong message to NASA if the president doesn’t appoint someone. It also sends a subtle message that perhaps he doesn’t think that space exploration is all that important. So, it is important for him to find someone to lead the agency quickly.
Selecting a NASA administrator, I am sure, is tough. While this is an important position, it is also a political position. The decision of who should run NASA is as much a political appointment with political ends and statements as it is an appointment of someone to oversee the nation’s space agency (and aeronautics, let’s not forget that part of NASA, too). There have been a lot of rumors and suggestions for nearly half a year. Back in January, it looked like someone was going to be named, but that didn’t work out. There have been others. So, I didn’t want to write anything more until it looked pretty certain. Now, the news reporters are reporting that President Obama is appointing Charles F. Bolden to be the new NASA administrator. This time, the reports look pretty good.
Bolden is an interesting choice, particularly after such a long time. He is a former astronaut, having flown four missions, which would suggest that he would be an excellent choice to lead the space agency. One of his missions was STS-31, the flight that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope. He is a retired Marine major general, so he should have good leadership capabilities. He has been doing military and aerospace consulting for the last few years.
The same report names Lori Garver, another space consultant, as being about to be appointed as deputy administrator. Garver served three years with NASA administering policy and plans, and she served as a spokesperson for the agency. She appears to be a strong proponent of private space enterprises, and would likely work to strengthen relationships between NASA and private space firms. She is also a past executive director of the National Space Society.
None of this is a done deal, of course. Things are often quite fluid in Washington. The Senate will have to confirm Bolden’s appointment, of course. But, this nomination looks like it will go through. In fact, both nominations seem to be reasonable choices.
-Astroprof
Image courtesy NASA
Gudrun Scott on May 24, 2009 at 11:34 am: 1
Good, Charles Bolden launched the Hubble and that is what we want- for NASA to continue to support astronomic discoveries coming out of Hubble.
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S. Ray DeRusse on May 24, 2009 at 9:22 pm: 2
Great. Now maybe the new Administrator can begin using CFR-1275; Investigation of Research Misconduct filed by NASA in the federal register during the Bush administration. Since Griffin had very little incentive to use the law we can start with a new slate and move forward.
http://www.bccmeteorites.com/misconduct-planetary.html