May 27
Obama Picks Former Astronaut to Head NASA
Posted in: NASA, science, space, Space Tech, Today's Chili
President Obama has announced the nomination of General Charles F. Bolden Jr, a 34-year Marine Corps veteran, four-time NASA space shuttle astronaut, and current CEO of aerospace consulting firm JackandPanther, for the position of NASA administrator.
Bolden will have a full plate in front of him. The top question will be whether or not Bolden sticks with the Bush plan for NASA–which is to return humankind to the moon and eventually send manned missions to Mars–or decides to de-emphasize manned missions in favor of much cheaper and arguably more useful robotic missions. Current indications, though, are that Obama chose Bolden in part because he is a strong proponent of manned spaceflight–and will therefore keep the dream alive.
The appointment also comes as NASA retires its remaining three space shuttles by the end of 2010, moves away from maintaining Hubble after its recent successful repair trip, and develops next-generation rockets that won’t be ready to carry astronauts until at least 2015.
Post a Comment