Former Astronaut Likely to Be New NASA Chief
Friday May 15, 2009
According to MSNBC, former astronaut Charles F. Bolden Jr. will most likely be tapped as the next head of NASA. He is scheduled to meet with President Obama in the Oval Office on Monday morning.
Bolden, a retired Brigadier General in the United States Marine Corps, served as an astronaut with NASA from August 1981 until June 27, 1994 when he returned to active duty with the Marines. During that time, he flew aboard the Space Shuttle missions STS-61C, STS-31, STS-45 and STS-60. In 2002, President Bush selected him to serve as Deputy Administrator of the space agency. He retired from the Marine Corps in 2003.
If the president selects Bolden, he would be the first African-American appointed to head the space agency.
Image Credits: NASA Johnson Space Center (NASA-JSC)Follow me on Twitter!