Obama Picks African-American Ex-Astronaut to Lead NASA

President Barack Obama has chosen an African-American astronaut to head NASA, according to a CNN article.

The man's name is Charles Bolden. He has flown two space shuttle missions as the pilot and two as commander since he was selected as an astronaut in 1980, according to the article. Gen. Bolden would be the first African American to lead NASA and only the second astronaut to lead the administration in its 50-year history.

The Huffington Post called Bolden "a calming well-liked former space shuttle commander."

Bolden was named the chief of the safety division at the Johnson Space Center after the Challenger accident of 1986, according to the CNN article. He was NASA's assistant deputy administrator in the '90s. He is currently the chief executive officer of JackandPanther LLC, a private military and aerospace consulting firm.

Bolden is also a retired Marine Corps general, according to a Wall Street Journal article.

Former Johnson Space Center Director George Abbey called Bolden "a real leader" in the Huffington Post article, and said he will bring balance at a time where NASA is "faced with a lot of uncertainty."

Bolden himself faces some critics who say he's too closely related to current NASA programs, according to the Wall Street Journal article.

Of Bolden's critics, the WSJ says, "These people, who want to shake up the agency's priorities, include officials of smaller aerospace firms hoping to snare NASA business and some Obama advisers likely to play a role in charting NASA's direction. Gen. Bolden has supported some startup space ventures, but they still wanted a nominee with a more-unconventional background."

Bolden's work as a lobbyist has also been brought up, in light of Obama's rules preventing former lobbyists from getting certain government jobs. Bolden was a lobbyist for ATK, a NASA contractor, for three months in 2005, according to the article.

Although the new rules would require Bolden to recuse himself from any decisions concerning contracts for the companies he has previously worked for, the general restriction on former lobbyists would not apply to him because his time at ATK was more than two year ago, the Wall Street Journal said.

The Senate is expected to approve the nomination, according the Wall Street Journal.

Former president George W. Bush had attempted to appoint Bolden as the agenc's deputy administrator in 2002, according to the Huffington Post. "The Pentagon said it needed to keep Bolden, who was a Marine general at the time and a pilot who flew more than 100 sorties in Vietnam," the article said.

The White House also announced that Obama will nominate Lori Garver to NASA's No. 2 position. Garver supports changing NASA to benefit the efforts of private space companies. According to the Wall Street Journal, she also wants to expand research into climate change and new technology, such as satellites that can collect solar energy to generate electricity for use on Earth.

In his announcement of these NASA picks, President Obama said in a statement: "These talented individuals will help put NASA on course to boldly push the boundaries of science, aeronautics and exploration in the 21st century and ensure the long-term vibrancy of America's space program."

Seth Borenstein, Charles Bolden, Obama's NASA Chief Pick, The Huffington Post

Obama taps ex-astronaut to head NASA, CNN Ticker

Andy Pasztor and T.W. Farnam, Bolden is Tapped to Run NASA, The Wall Street Journal