Who is the current head of NASA?
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James Frederick Bridenstine (born June 15, 1975) is an American politician and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Bridenstine served as the United States Representative for Oklahoma's 1st congressional district, based in Tulsa from January 3, 2013 to April 23, 2018. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Jim Bridenstine
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The Chief of the Astronaut Office is the most senior leadership position for active astronauts in the Corps. The Chief Astronaut serves as head of the Corps and is the principal adviser to the NASA Administrator on astronaut training and operations. The first Chief Astronaut was Deke Slayton, appointed in 1962. The current Chief Astronaut is Patrick Forrester.
NASA Astronaut Corps
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On September 1, 2017, the White House announced that Bridenstine was President Donald Trump's preferred pick to head NASA. The choice was quickly criticized by both Republican and Democratic politicians, saying that NASA should be headed by a "space professional", not a politician or a Trump ally. Critics drew attention to Bridenstine's lack of formal qualifications in science or engineering (unlike previous appointees to that post). Florida Republican senator Marco Rubio said that Bridenstine's political history could prove controversial and delay the confirmation process, saying "I just think it could be devastating for the space program", while Democratic Senator Bill Nelson, also of Florida and a former Payload Specialist for NASA who flew on STS-61-C, said "The head of NASA ought to be a space professional, not a politician." "CNN" found that Bridenstine's Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts were entirely deleted, while most of the interviews on his Soundcloud were deleted, at a time when Congress would be examining his record for his confirmation hearing.
Jim Bridenstine
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The current Administrator is Jim Bridenstine, who was nominated by President Donald Trump on September 1, 2017. Bridenstine was confirmed on April 19, 2018, and was sworn in four days later on April 23, 2018.The line of succession for the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is as follows:
"In the event of there being no Deputy Administrator of NASA, and the Associate Administrator serving as Acting Administrator, then the Deputy Associate Administrator assumes the role of Acting Deputy Administrator."
List of Administrators and Deputy Administrators of NASA
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Lesa B. Roe is an American aerospace engineer who currently serves as the Chancellor of the University of North Texas System. Prior to becoming chancellor, Roe served as the Acting Deputy Administrator of NASA from January 20, 2017 to September 30, 2017, and was the Deputy Associate Administrator from May 1, 2014 to September 30, 2017. Roe has also served as the Director of NASA Langley Research Center from 2005 to 2014, the first woman to hold that position. She previously served as the center's Deputy Director from June 2004 until being named Director in October 2005. Roe in totality served 32 years at NASA, managed the employment of over 17,000 employees with a budget of 19.6 billion.
Lesa Roe
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Ellen Renee Stofan (born February 24, 1961) is the former Chief Scientist of NASA and served as principal advisor to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on the agency’s science programs, planning and investments. She resigned from NASA in December 2016. Previously, she served as vice president of Proxemy Research in Laytonsville, Maryland, and as an honorary professor in the Earth sciences department at the University College London. She is currently the Director of the National Air and Space Museum.
Ellen Stofan
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The Administrator and Deputy Administrator of NASA are the highest-ranked officials of NASA, the space agency of the United States Federal Government. The Administrator serves as the senior space science advisor to the President of the United States. According to NASA, the role of the Administrator is to "lead the NASA team and manage its resources to advance the Vision for Space Exploration." The Deputy Administrator of NASA "serves as the agency’s second in command and is responsible to the administrator for providing overall leadership, planning, and policy direction for the agency. They represent NASA to the Executive Office of the President, Congress, heads of federal and other appropriate government agencies, international organizations, and external organizations and communities. They also oversee the day to day work of NASA’s functional offices, such as the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of General Counsel and Strategic Communications", according to NASA (referring to Shana Dale).
List of Administrators and Deputy Administrators of NASA
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The current proposal is supported by current NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who has stated that it is critical to defending the United States' energy grid and GPS network. Other supporters include former Air Force Colonel and astronaut Buzz Aldrin, former Air Force Colonel and astronaut Terry Virts, former Marine Corps Colonel and astronaut Jack R. Lousma, former astronaut David Wolf, former astronaut Clayton Anderson, space mogul Elon Musk, and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
United States Space Force
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Dr. Colleen Hartman was the deputy center director for Science, Operations and Performance of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and currently is the Director of the Science and Exploration Directorate (Code 600). Previously she was a presidential management intern, served as a senior policy analyst at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and served as deputy division director for technology at NASA Headquarters.
Colleen Hartman
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O'Keefe became NASA administrator on December 21, 2001 after the United States Senate confirmed his nomination. He came to NASA without formal training in science or engineering (as was the case with James E. Webb who was NASA administrator from 1961 to 1968). O'Keefe's tenure at NASA can be divided into roughly three equal periods, each marked by a single problem or event of overriding importance:; in the period December 2001 through January 2003, O'Keefe eliminated a $5 billion cost overrun in the construction of the International Space Station. In 2003 the Space Shuttle "Columbia" accident and its aftermath. From January 2004 through February 2005, O'Keefe re-organized NASA to start working on President George W. Bush's newly announced Vision for Space Exploration to send humans to the Moon and Mars.
Sean O'Keefe
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The chief author of NASA's budget proposal is John Culberson, the head of the science subcommittee in the House of Representatives. In Spring 2015 he presented a budget request, creating the possibility of an all-new NASA mission program. The House Appropriations Committee approved its version of the FY2016 House Appropriations Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) bill on May 20, 2015. Therefore, the Committee directed NASA to create an Ocean Worlds Exploration Program whose primary goal is to discover extant life on another world using a mix of Discovery, New Frontiers and Flagship class missions consistent with the recommendations of current and future Planetary Science Decadal Surveys.
Ocean Worlds Exploration Program