Administrator Charles Bolden Resigned On Inauguration Day

President Donald Trump has another item to add to his "to do" list; appointing a new NASA Administrator.

As Trump was being sworn in last Friday, Charles Bolden (pictured) was tendering his resignation as the head of the space agency. He did not publicly reveal why he decided to leave the post.

Bolden was selected by Former President Barack Obama to oversee the phaseout of the Shuttle program and ramp up commercial space operations.

Bay News 6 reports that Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot is the acting administrator of NASA while the search for a permanent leader is conducted. President Trump has not released a list of any potential candidates for the job, but one person who has been mentioned for the post is Congressman Jim Bridenstine (R-OK). He is a Lt. Commander in the Navy and former executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium.

Bridenstine introduced the American Space Renaissance Act, which "includes separate sections covering military, civil and commercial policy topics, from changes to responsibilities for space situational awareness to giving the NASA administrator a fixed five-year term," according to Space News.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.nasa.gov