Administrator of NASA

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox Political post The administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the highest-ranking official of NASA, the national space agency of the United States. The administrator is NASA's chief decision maker, responsible for providing clarity to the agency's vision and serving as a source of internal leadership within NASA. The office holder also has an important place within United States space policy,[1] and is assisted by a deputy administrator.

The administrator is appointed by the president of the United States, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, and thereafter serves at the president's pleasure. Janet Petro has served as the acting administrator since January 20, 2025. Entrepreneur and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman has been the nominee for NASA administrator from December 4, 2024 to May 31, 2025.

Duties and responsibilities

The administrator serves as NASA's chief executive officer, accountable to the President for the leadership necessary to achieve the agency's mission. This leadership requires articulating the agency's vision, setting its programmatic and budget priorities and internal policies, and assessing Agency performance.[2]

History

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 current administrator is KSC director Janet Petro, who was designated by President Donald Trump on January 20, 2025 as acting Administrator.[6] She replaced Bill Nelson, who was nominated by President Joe Biden on March 19, 2021,[7] confirmed by the Senate on April 29, and officially sworn in on May 3.[8] Entrepreneur and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman was nominated by Trump (while he was President-elect) on December 4, 2024,[9] but his nomination was withdrawn on May 31,[10] potentially due to Isaacman's donations to Democratic, anti-Trump politicians.[11]

List of administrators

Status

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  Denotes an acting administrator of NASA

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  Denotes a presumptive nominee
No. Portrait Name Took office Left office Days served President
serving underScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
1 T. Keith Glennan T. Keith Glennan August 19, 1958 January 20, 1961 Script error: No such module "age". style="background: Template:Party color;" | Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Hugh Dryden Hugh Dryden January 11, 1961 February 14, 1961 Script error: No such module "age". rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | John F. Kennedy
2 James E. Webb James E. Webb February 14, 1961 October 7, 1968 Script error: No such module "age".
Script error: No such module "age".
(Script error: No such module "age". total)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Lyndon B. Johnson
3 Thomas O. Paine Thomas O. Paine October 8, 1968 March 21, 1969 Script error: No such module "age".
Script error: No such module "age". rowspan=4 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Richard Nixon
March 21, 1969 September 15, 1970 Script error: No such module "age".
(Script error: No such module "age". total)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- George Low George Low September 16, 1970 April 26, 1971 Script error: No such module "age".
4 James C. Fletcher James C. Fletcher April 27, 1971 May 1, 1977 Script error: No such module "age".
Script error: No such module "age". style="background: Template:Party color;" | Gerald Ford
Script error: No such module "age".
(3258 total)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Jimmy Carter
- Alan M. Lovelace Alan M. Lovelace May 2, 1977 June 20, 1977 Script error: No such module "age".
5 Robert A. Frosch Robert A. Frosch June 21, 1977 January 20, 1981 Script error: No such module "age".
- Alan M. Lovelace Alan M. Lovelace January 21, 1981 July 10, 1981 Script error: No such module "age".
(220 total) 		rowspan=4 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Ronald Reagan
6 James M. Beggs James M. Beggs July 10, 1981 December 4, 1985 Script error: No such module "age".
- William Graham William Graham December 4, 1985 May 11, 1986 Script error: No such module "age".
7 James C. Fletcher James C. Fletcher May 12, 1986 April 8, 1989 Script error: No such module "age".
Script error: No such module "age".
(3258 total) 		rowspan=5 style="background: Template:Party color;" | George H. W. Bush
- Dale D. Myers Dale D. Myers April 8, 1989 May 13, 1989 Script error: No such module "age".
8 Richard H. Truly Richard H. Truly May 14, 1989 June 30, 1989 Script error: No such module "age".
July 1, 1989 March 31, 1992 Script error: No such module "age".
(Script error: No such module "age". total)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
9 Daniel Goldin Daniel Goldin April 1, 1992 November 17, 2001 Script error: No such module "age".
Script error: No such module "age". style="background: Template:Party color;" | Bill Clinton
Script error: No such module "age".
(Script error: No such module "age". total) 		rowspan=5 style="background: Template:Party color;" | George W. Bush
- Daniel Mulville Daniel Mulville November 19, 2001 December 21, 2001 Script error: No such module "age".
10 Sean O'Keefe Sean O'Keefe December 21, 2001 February 11, 2005 Script error: No such module "age".
- Frederick D. Gregory Frederick D. Gregory February 11, 2005 April 14, 2005 Script error: No such module "age".
11 Michael D. Griffin Michael D. Griffin April 14, 2005 January 20, 2009 Script error: No such module "age".
- Christopher Scolese Christopher Scolese January 20, 2009 July 17, 2009 Script error: No such module "age". rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Barack Obama
12 Charles Bolden Charles Bolden July 17, 2009 January 20, 2017 Script error: No such module "age".
- Robert Lightfoot Robert M. Lightfoot Jr. January 20, 2017 April 23, 2018 Script error: No such module "age". rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Donald Trump
13 Jim Bridenstine Jim Bridenstine April 23, 2018 January 20, 2021 Script error: No such module "age".
- Steve Jurczyk Steve Jurczyk January 20, 2021 May 3, 2021 Script error: No such module "age". rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Party color;" | Joe Biden
14 Bill Nelson Bill Nelson May 3, 2021 January 20, 2025 Script error: No such module "age".
- Janet Petro Janet Petro January 20, 2025 Incumbent Script error: No such module "age". style="background: Template:Party color;" | Donald Trump

Line of succession

The line of succession for the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is as follows:[12]

  1. Deputy administrator of NASA
  2. Associate administrator of NASA
  3. Chief of staff of NASA
  4. Director of Johnson Space Center (Houston, Texas)
  5. Director of Kennedy Space Center (Merritt Island, Florida)
  6. Director of Marshall Space Flight Center (Redstone Arsenal, Alabama)

In the event of there being no deputy administrator of NASA, the associate administrator will serve as acting administrator.

See also

References

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  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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