Wednesday, January 7, 2009

New NASA Chief

Michael Griffin is preparing to step down as administrator of NASA as Barack Obama takes over the presidency. Indications have been that Griffin was willing to stay on if asked, but he has not, in fact, been asked.

Possible candidates for the position include former astronauts Charlie Bolden and Sally Ride. Also mentioned are three NASA veterans who've already had distinguighed stints at the agency-- Alan Stern, Wesley Huntress, and Scott Hubbard.

Another possibility might be Lori Garver. She is a leader of the Obama NASA Transition team and spoke for Obama on space policy several times during the campaign. Garver is also a former associate administrator of NASA, as well as a former executive director of the National Space Society.

Garver, or Ride, would be the first female NASA chief, while Bolden would be the first African-American to hold the top space job.

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