:-)
Brent "Tracey de Morsella" <tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com> writes: >HOUSTON Ñ The nation's turbulent space program will be run by one of its >own, a calming well-liked former space shuttle commander. >[ >http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/23/charles-bolden-obamas-pic_n_207043.html >]President Barack Obama on Saturday chose retired astronaut Gen. Charles >Bolden to lead NASA. He also named former [ >http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/23/charles-bolden-obamas-pic_n_207043.html >]NASA associate administrator Lori Garver as the agency's No. 2. If >confirmed, Bolden, who has flown in space four times and was an assistant >deputy administrator at one point, would be the agency's first black >administrator. >Bolden would also be only the second astronaut to run NASA in its 50-year >history. Adm. Richard Truly was the first. In 2002, then-President George >W. Bush unsuccessfully tried to appoint Bolden as the space agency's >deputy administrator. The Pentagon said it needed to keep Bolden, who was >a Marine general at the time and a pilot who flew more than 100 sorties >in Vietnam. >"Charlie knows NASA and the people know Charlie; there's a level of >comfort," especially given the uncertainty the space agency faces, said >retired astronaut Steve Hawley, who flew twice in space with Bolden. >Bolden likely will bring "more balance" to NASA, increasing spending on >aeronautics and environment missions, working more with other nations in >space, and emphasizing education, which the president often talks about >when it comes to space, said former Johnson Space Center Director George >Abbey, a longtime friend. >"He's a real leader," Abbey said Saturday. "NASA has been looking for a >leader like this that they could have confidence in." >Bolden's appointment came during the tail end of the space shuttle >Atlantis' mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope one final time. He >was the pilot on the flight that sent Hubble into orbit in 1990. >Bolden, 62, would inherit a NASA that doesn't look much like the >still-somewhat-fresh-from-the-moon agency he joined as an astronaut in >1980. NASA now "is faced with a lot of uncertainty," Abbey said. >Story continues below [Image] >Bush set in motion a plan to retire the space shuttle fleet at the end of >next year and return astronauts to the moon and then head out to Mars in >a series of rockets and capsules that borrows heavily from the 1960s >Apollo program. The shuttle's replacement won't be ready until at least >2015, so for five years the only way Americans will be able to get in >space is by hitching a ride on a Russian space capsule. And some of >NASA's biggest science programs are over budget. >Earlier this month, the White House ordered a complete outside >examination of the manned space program. The Obama administration hasn't >been explicit about its space policy, with White House science adviser >John Holdren saying the policy would come after a NASA chief was named. >"These talented individuals will help put NASA on course to boldly push >the boundaries of science, aeronautics and exploration in the 21st >century and ensure the long-term vibrancy of America's space program," >Obama said of Bolden and Garver in a statement. >Bolden, a native of Columbia, S.C., and his wife donated $750 to the >Obama campaign in 2008. >At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, where Bolden spent about a >decade, his impending appointment was quietly cheered on all week long. >The diminutive salt-and-pepper haired Bolden, who lives only a few miles >from the space center, on Saturday morning said he couldn't talk until >after Senate confirmation. He was busy answering congratulatory e-mails >from home. He has his own consulting firm in Houston and sits on >corporate boards. >Those who have flown or worked with Bolden can't praise him enough. >Retired astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz interviewed to become an astronaut >the same week as Bolden, was picked at the same time, and they flew >together on their first flights. >Soon after that much-delayed launch of the space shuttle Columbia in >January 1986, Chang-Diaz looked at his friend Bolden and saw that the >shuttle pilot had a "big, big smile... we were kind of like kids in a >candy store." >Hawley and then-U.S. Rep. Bill Nelson were also aboard that 1986 flight. >Nelson, now the chairman of the Senate subcommittee on space that will >oversee Bolden's nomination and one of the people pushing Bolden's >nomination to the White House, commented: "I trusted Charlie with my life >- and would do so again." >Kathryn Sullivan was the payload commander on the 1992 flight of >Atlantis, which was Bolden's first of two shuttle commands. She said >Bolden has all the aspects of leadership that a good chief requires. That >includes experience, wisdom and the ability to listen to all sides. She >called him "one of the finest people I've ever known." >"Charlie's a great leader," Chang-Diaz agreed. "He takes care of his >team." >___ >On the Net >Bolden's NASA biography: [ http://tinyurl.com/2eln82 >]http://tinyurl.com/2eln82
