List of Administrators and Deputy Administrators of NASA

Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA Seal Constituent part of the Administrator's standard
Incumbent Charles F. Bolden, Jr. since July 17, 2009
Term length	At the pleasure of the President
Inaugural holder	Thomas Keith Glennan
Website	Charles F. Bolden, NASA

The Administrator and Deputy Administrator of NASA are the highest-ranked officials of NASA, the space agency of the United States. 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."^[1] 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).^[2]

The first Administrator of NASA was Dr. T. Keith Glennan; during his term he brought together the disparate projects in space development research in the US.^[3] Daniel Goldin held the post for the longest term (nearly 10 years), and is best known for pioneering the "faster, better, cheaper" approach to space programs.^[4] The only person to hold the post twice is James C. Fletcher, who returned to NASA following the Challenger disaster.^[5]

The longest-running (acting) Deputy Administrator was John R. Dailey, who held the post following his retirement from the United States Marine Corps.^[6] The longest-running full Deputy Administrator was Hugh Latimer Dryden, who was the first Deputy Administrator.^[7] William R. Graham has held the post of Deputy Administrator twice, and was the acting Administrator in between,^[8] as did Frederick D. Gregory.^[9] Dr. Daniel Mulville served as the acting Deputy Administrator twice, and was acting Administrator in between.^[10]

The current Administrator of NASA is Charles Bolden. His nomination was announced on May 24, 2009 by President Barack Obama,^[11] and he was formally appointed upon successful confirmation by the United States Senate on July 15, 2009.^[12][13][14] He started his position on July 17, 2009.^[15] Dava Newman is the current Deputy Administrator. Her nomination was announced on October 17, 2014.^[16]

Administrators

Photograph	Name	Term start	Term end	Term length	Ref(s)
	Dr. T. Keith Glennan	August 19, 1958	January 20, 1961	885 days	[17]
	Dr. Hugh L. Dryden (acting)	January 21, 1961	February 14, 1961	24 days	[17]
	James E. Webb	February 14, 1961	October 7, 1968	2792 days	[17]
	Dr. Thomas O. Paine (acting)	October 8, 1968	March 21, 1969	164 days	[17]
	Dr. Thomas O. Paine	March 21, 1969	September 15, 1970	543 days	[17]
	Dr. George M. Low (acting)	September 16, 1970	April 26, 1971	222 days	[17]
	Dr. James C. Fletcher	April 27, 1971	May 1, 1977	2196 days	[17]
	Dr. Alan M. Lovelace (acting)	May 2, 1977	June 20, 1977	49 days	[17]
	Dr. Robert A. Frosch	June 21, 1977	January 20, 1981	1309 days	[17]
	Dr. Alan M. Lovelace (acting)	January 21, 1981	July 10, 1981	170 days	[17]
	James M. Beggs	July 10, 1981	December 4, 1985	1608 days	[17]
	Dr. William R. Graham (acting)	December 4, 1985	May 11, 1986	158 days	[17]
	Dr. James C. Fletcher	May 12, 1986	April 8, 1989	1062 days	[17]
	Dale D. Myers (acting)	April 8, 1989	May 13, 1989	35 days	[17]
	VAdm (Ret.) Richard H. Truly (acting)	May 14, 1989	June 30, 1989	47 days	[17]
	VAdm (Ret.) Richard H. Truly	July 1, 1989	March 31, 1992	1004 days	[17]
	Daniel S. Goldin	April 1, 1992	November 17, 2001	3517 days	[17]
	Dr. Daniel R. Mulville (acting)	November 19, 2001	December 21, 2001	32 days	[17]
	Sean O'Keefe	December 21, 2001	February 11, 2005	1148 days	[17]
	Col (Ret.) Frederick D. Gregory (acting)	February 11, 2005	April 14, 2005	62 days	[17]
	Dr. Michael D. Griffin	April 14, 2005	January 20, 2009	1377 days	[1][17]
	Christopher Scolese (acting)	January 21, 2009	July 16, 2009	176 days	[17]
	Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Charles F. Bolden, Jr.	July 17, 2009	Present	27012701+ days	[13][17]

Deputy Administrators

Photograph	Name	Term start	Term end	Term length	Ref(s)
	Dr. Hugh L. Dryden	August 19, 1958	December 2, 1965	2662 days	[17]
	Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr.	December 21, 1965	January 5, 1968	745 days	[17]
	Dr. Thomas O. Paine	March 25, 1968	March 20, 1969	360 days	[17]
	Dr. George M. Low	December 3, 1969	June 5, 1976	2376 days	[17]
	Dr. Alan M. Lovelace	July 2, 1976	July 10, 1981	1834 days	[17]
	Dr. Hans Mark	July 10, 1981	September 1, 1984	1149 days	[17]
	Dr. William R. Graham	November 25, 1985	December 4, 1985	9 days	[17]
	Dr. William R. Graham	May 11, 1986	October 1, 1986	143 days	[17]
	Dale D. Myers	October 6, 1986	May 13, 1989	950 days	[17]
	James R. Thompson, Jr.	July 6, 1989	November 8, 1991	885 days	[17]
	Aaron Cohen (acting)	February 19, 1992	November 1, 1992	256 days	[17]
	John R. Dailey (acting)	November 3, 1992	December 31, 1999	3173 days	[17]
	Dr. Daniel Mulville (acting)	January 1, 2000	November 19, 2001	688 days	[17]
	Dr. Daniel Mulville (acting)	December 21, 2001	August 11, 2002	233 days	[17]
	Frederick D. Gregory	August 12, 2002	February 20, 2005	923 days	[17]
	Frederick D. Gregory	April 14, 2005	November 4, 2005	204 days	[17]
	Shana Dale	November 4, 2005	January 17, 2009	1171 days	[17]
	Lori Garver	July 17, 2009	September 6, 2013	15121512 days	[17]
	Dava Newman	May 15, 2015	Present	573573 days	[17]

Line of Succession

The line of succession for the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is as follows:^[18]

1. Deputy Administrator of NASA
2. Chief of Staff to the NASA Administrator
3. Director of Johnson Space Center (Houston, Texas)
4. Director of Kennedy Space Center (Merritt Island, Florida)
5. Director of Marshall Space Flight Center (Redstone Arsenal, Alabama)

See also

• Chairmen of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
• NASA Chief Scientist

References

1. "Biography of Michael D. Griffin, NASA Administrator". NASA. Archived from the original on July 7, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
2. "Biography of Shana Dale, NASA Deputy Administrator". NASA. Archived from the original on May 30, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
3. "T. Keith Glennan biography". NASA. August 4, 2006. Archived from the original on July 8, 2008. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
4. "Daniel S. Goldin biography". NASA. March 12, 2004. Archived from the original on 15 June 2008. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
5. "James C. Fletcher biography". NASA. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
6. "General John Dailey biography". NASA. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
7. "Hugh L. Dryden biography". NASA. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
8. "William R. Graham biography". NASA. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
9. "Frederick D. Gregory". NASA. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
10. "Daniel Mulville biography". NASA. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
11. "Retired General Picked to Lead NASA". New York Times. May 23, 2009. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
12. "NASA – NASA Organization". NASA. Archived from the original on January 18, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
13. "Presidential Appointee Positions Requiring Senate Confirmation and Committees Handling Nominations" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. 2008-03-18. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 24, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
14. "Bolden and Garver Confirmed by U.S. Senate". NASA. July 15, 2009. Archived from the original on October 28, 2009.
15. "Charles F. Bolden, Jr., NASA Administrator (July 17, 2009 – present)". NASA. Archived from the original on July 27, 2009. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
16. Chandler, David L. (17 October 2014). "Dava Newman nominated for NASA post" (Press release). MIT News. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
17. "List of Administrators and Deputy Administrators of NASA". NASA. Archived from the original on May 21, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
18. "Designation of Officers of the National Aeronautics And Space Administration To Act as Administrator". Federal Register. 2009-01-22. Retrieved 2016-10-30.