NASA announced its chief civil servant, former astronaut Bob Cabana, plans to retire after this year. Jim Free, the current Associate Administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, will take the post of NASA Associate Administrator.
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There was something refreshing last summer when NASA promoted Kathy Lueders from her leadership role over Commercial Crew and Commercial Cargo programs to lead Human Explorations & Operations.
A key goal of the Artemis program is to send the first woman and person of color to the Moon in this decade. It only felt appropriate that a highly qualified female would make key Artemis program decisions after the unceremonious departure of her predecessor.
Now Bill Nelson’s NASA is dividing the human spaceflight program into two separate mission directorates: Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate and Space Operations Mission Directorate.
Jim Free, a former NASA deputy, will take on exploration duties while Lueders retains her responsibilities in operations.
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