The White House is sending up trial balloons hinting that former astronaut Charles "Charlie" Bolden will be named NASA administrator during a meeting with President Obama on Monday.
If so, that would make Bolden the first African-American NASA administrator. Chances are that he's also the most popular choice within the contentious aerospace community.
Major General Bolden, USMC (ret) has decades of leadership experience. A veteran of four spaceflights, Bolden attended the U.S. Naval Academy, where he was elected president of his class.
His mission accomplishments include flying on the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990. He's also served as a space shuttle pilot, adding to his years of credentials as a fighter and test pilot.
His backing comes from powerful names, including Florida's senior senator, Bill Nelson (D), who flew with Bolden in 1986. Nelson has been bird-dogging the appointment process, which has seen numberous names emerge as potential NASA leaders.
Even former NASA administrator Michael Griffin has stepped up and declared Bolden "perfect" for the job, despite the rancor between Griffin and the current administration. It seems as though there's one thing that everyone can agree on: Bolden has the technical and operational expertise as well as the leadership and diplomatic skills required to lead NASA through the tumultuous years ahead as the shuttle program ends and the next-gen spacecraft and missions are defined.
In January, I examined Bolden's background and predicted that he'd be the next NASA administrator. Take the question mark off the headline and you have next week's news.
Image credit/NASA
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