Charles Bolden

Fighter pilot, astronaut, grandfather, and now NASA Head

Fighter pilot, astronaut, grandfather; Charles Bolden to helm NASA

Former astronaut and retired Marine Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden is the new administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The wartime Marine fighter pilot, 62, was confirmed by the Senate without objection. He is the first African-American and second astronaut to head the space agency. He takes office July 20, 40 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing.

Bolden, nominated by President Barack Obama, will face budget restraints, technical issues and the pending retirement of the space shuttle fleet, among other challenges. A shuttle replacement won’t be ready until at least 2015, so Americans will have to ride on a Russian space capsule to get to space.

Bolden flew on four Shuttle missions as a member of international teams of engineering and science professionals. He was pilot on two missions and commander on two. [space shuttle missions]

Bolden was born in 1946 and raised in segregated Columbia, S.C., the son of public school teachers. He said during his confirmation hearing that he received his Naval Academy appointment by appealing to President Lyndon Johnson after his home state’s senators and congressman refused to consider a black candidate. His Annapolis appointment came instead from Rep. William Dawson of Chicago.

He received his BS in electrical science from the Naval Academy in 1968 and an MS in systems management from the University of Southern California in 1977. Upon graduation from the Naval Academy, Bolden began in the Marine Corps as a second lieutenant and a pilot. He flew more than 100 sorties in wartime Vietnam, became a test pilot and logged more than 6,000 hours flying time.

Bolden became an astronaut in 1981. Assignments included astronaut office safety officer, technical assistant to the director of flight crew operations and assistant deputy administrator of NASA headquarters. He piloted the 1990 shuttle that launched the Hubble Space Telescope.

He returned to the Marine Corps in 1994 as deputy commandant at the Naval Academy and retired in 2003 as commanding general of the Third Marine Aircraft Wing. He is CEO of the Houston military and aerospace consulting firm, Jack and Panther LLC. He and his wife, Alexis Walker, have two children and three grandchildren.

Obama said that Bolden, with Lori Garver, nominated deputy administrator, will help put NASA on course to push the boundaries of science, aeronautics and exploration and ensure the long-term success of America’s space program. Garver was also confirmed by the Senate.

In a statement for his confirmation hearing, Bolden said, “I am inspired by the power of a shared national vision articulated by President John F. Kennedy to put men on the Moon; uniting the world in celebrating this achievement; and assuming uncontested technological leadership.”

Bolden’s plans include enhancing NASA’s capability to provide credible scientific, technological and engineering leadership to help better understand Earth’s environment. He said he wants to inspire a new generation of scientists and engineers to help develop technologies needed for a human mission to Mars, which Bolden said is two decades away.