Posted on 04/14/2005 1:30:00 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
WASHINGTON - The Senate confirmed Michael Griffin as the new NASA administrator Wednesday night in a rush to get the Maryland rocket scientist in office before the return to human space flight scheduled for next month.
Griffin, 55, whose nomination by President Bush was confirmed by a unanimous vote, replaces Sean O'Keefe, who stepped down in February to become chancellor of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
"NASA needs his leadership in place for the countdown to May 15, when America returns to flight," said U.S. Sen. Kay Baily Hutchison, R-Texas.
The shuttle Discovery is being prepared for launch on the first mission since Columbia and its crew perished over Texas more than two years ago.
Hutchison was not on the Senate floor for the vote but was one of many senators who worked to move Griffin quickly through the confirmation process.
At a Senate committee hearing Tuesday, Griffin outlined his priorities for NASA, including a return to travel to the moon and the quick rollout of a new space vehicle to replace the aging shuttle fleet.
Griffin also said a robotic mission to repair the 14-year-old Hubble Space Telescope is not feasible, but an option for repairs by astronauts should be reassessed after shuttle flights resume.
"With proper guidance from the top, NASA has a bold and bright future," said Hutchison, chairwoman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science and Space.
There was no immediate word on when Griffin will make his first visit as director to the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Griffin's nomination coincides with Bush's plan to reinvigorate NASA with a mission to explore the moon and Mars.
The president's 2006 funding request gives NASA a 2.5 percent increase over last year to $16.5 billion, but Congress is expected to reduce that figure in the final budget.
donald.jordan@chron.com
Ping.
It is refreshingly good news. Looking forward to hearing more.
As long as our first manned mission to Mars is to expose the 'TRUTH' about the face on Mars, Richard C. Hoagland will be happy! After the initial disappointment that it wasn't him that became the NASA head chief (after all, he had the Coast to Coast crowd rallying for him!).
All great endeavors suffer kook theories.
How did the DemonicRats let this happen?
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