STS-125 delayed until Sunday, NASA gets new boss

William Atkins
Saturday, 23 May 2009 19:54

Science - Space

Bolton is a former shuttle commander (twice) for NASA, flying in space four times in all, for over 680 hours. He is also a former fighter pilot, and a retired Marine Corps Major General.

His biographical data is provided at the NASA Johnson Space Center website “Charles F. Bolden, Jr. (Brig. General, USMC) NASA Astronaut (former).”

In addition, Lori Beth Garver, president of the Capital Space consultancy and a senior adviser on space to the Avacent Group consultancy, will be named as NASA’s deputy administrator .

She is a former NASA Associate Administrator of Policy and Plans, serving from 1998 to 2001. Garver, age 47 years, oversaw the analysis, development, and integration of the office’s long-range planning.

Garber was also a spokesperson for NASA, along with being past space policy advisors for the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Kerry.

Additional biographical data on Garver is found at SpaceFacts.net’s “Garver, Lori Beth.”

Additional information about both announcements is found on the May 23, 2009 Reuters’s article “Obama to name Bolden as NASA administrator.”

The Huntsville Times/Space News has a chronology of articles on the Bolden appointment as it developed over the past few months.

And Time magazine’s article “Charles Bolden: The Next Boss at NASA?” made this following comment on Bolden: “While Bolden, 62, is widely respected within the space and military communities, critics are raising red flags over his ties to manufacturers behind NASA's new Constellation space program, especially in light of Obama's pledge to distance his Administration from corporate influence.”