. 24/7 Space News .
NASA Head To Resign: Reports

NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe
Washington (AFP) Dec 12, 2004
NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe is expected to resign his job at the helm of the US space agency this week, according to news reports Sunday.

The Orlando Sentinel newspaper reported that O'Keefe, who has led NASA for the past three years, is a top candidate to head Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

O'Keefe led the National Aeronautics and Space Administration during one of its most tumultuous periods ever, which saw the calamitous 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster and steep budget cuts, as well as ambitious plans to send astronauts back to the moon and eventually to Mars.

US Representative Dave Weldon, a Republican whose district abuts the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, told the Sentinel that he believes O'Keefe "is taking the job at LSU," and will be hard to replace at NASA.

"The president's going to have to come up with a strong leader who can follow up on return to flight," Weldon said.

"It's going to be a busy year for NASA, and whoever steps into Sean's shoes is going to find himself having to get a lot of things done quickly."

Before joining NASA, O'Keefe, 48, had spent less than a year as deputy director of the White House budget office.

During the administration of the first President Bush, O'Keefe was comptroller and chief financial officer at the Defense Department, and served as Secretary of the Navy during the last few months of his term.

When O'Keefe was confirmed by the Senate in December 2001, his chief task was resolving billions of dollars in cost overruns for the international space station program.

That mandate was overtaken however by the loss of the Columbia as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere over east Texas in February 2003, killing seven astronauts and prompting a period of intense reflection about the direction of the US space program.

All rights reserved. � 2004 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

Congress Impedes NASA Prizes
Washington DC (UPI) Dec 02, 2004
NASA is embarking on a bold new strategy to spur new private investment in spaceflight technology. If the effort succeeds, it could transform both the agency and the U.S. aerospace industry, but first there is the matter of congressional authority to overcome.



Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only














The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.