Charlie Bolden, nominee to head NASA, gets a warning at Senate confirmation hearing
Cleveland.com

Committee members largely praised Bolden, a 62-year-old retired Marine Corps general who would be the space agency’s first black leader. Still, Bolden came under intense questioning from Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Democrat of West Virginia, who chairs the committee. He twice questioned Bolden on what he would do to reinvigorate an agency that he said has suffered from “some really bad mess-ups,” including two shuttle disasters.

(more…)

The Senate will hold a confirmation hearing on Wednesday for Charles Bolden and Lori Garver as NASA administrator and deputy administrator, respectively. The Senate will likely confirm both nominees.

The Senate could have a confirmation hearing for NASA administrator nominee Charles Bolden next week. There seems to be no significant opposition to either Bolden or deputy administrator nominee Lori Garver.

Obama’s Pick for NASA Chief May Win Quick Senate Approval
Space.com

Key members of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee are clearing the way for swift confirmation of four-time space shuttle astronaut Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden, the president’s pick to lead NASA.

(more…)

President Barack Obama today nominated four-time space shuttle veteran Charles Bolden to become the next NASA administrator, a slot that has been vacant since Jan. 20.

The President also nominated Lori Garver as deputy administrator. Garver is a former NASA associate administrator who headed up Obama’s NASA transition team.

(more…)

Does Obama Want to Ground NASA’s Next Moon Mission? Time Magazine “NASA is right to be uneasy about just what Obama has planned for the agency since his position on space travel shifted – a lot – during the campaign. A year before the election he touted an $18 billion education program and explicitly targeted the new moon program as one he’d cut to pay for it. In January of […]

NASA has become a transition problem for Obama
Orlando Sentinel

“NASA administrator Mike Griffin is not cooperating with President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team, is obstructing its efforts to get information and has told its leader that she is ‘not qualified’ to judge his rocket program, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.

“In a heated 40-minute conversation last week with Lori Garver, a former NASA associate administrator who heads the space transition team, a red-faced Griffin demanded to speak directly to Obama, according to witnesses.

(more…)

Ferris Valyn takes a closer look at the Obama NASA transition team, delving into the backgrounds and experience of leaders Lori Garver and Roderic Young and their support cast of Edward Heffernan, George Whitesides, and Alan Ladwig. He also looks at the space views of some of the other officials in the next administration. Valyn writes: “It is worth noting that while many people within the transition team are former […]

Below are biographies for President-Elect Barack Obama’s NASA Transition Team.

Lori Garver is currently the President of Capital Space, LLC. For the past 25 years, Garver has been a leader in the aerospace community, working in senior roles in the non-profit, government and commercial sectors, including serving as executive director of the National Space Society and as a Vice President of DFI International. In addition, Garver previously served as NASA’s Associate Administrator of Policy.

(more…)

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson – a leading force behind Spaceport America – is a finalist to become the new Secretary of State, according to numerous published reports. President-elect Barack Obama is also considering Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for the position.

Meanwhile, transition teams are busy at work preparing for new leadership at NASA and the Department of Transportation, which includes the Federal Aviation Administration.

(more…)