Charles Bolden

Charles Bolden served as the 12th NASA Administrator, making him only the second astronaut to hold that position.  While heading NASA, Bolden oversaw the transition from the Space Shuttle system to a new era of exploration, fully focused on the International Space Station (ISS) and aeronautics technology development. Bolden also led the development of the Space Launch System and the Orion Crew Capsule.  Bolden also oversaw the shift toward commercial space initiatives handling resupply of the ISS. During his career as a NASA astronaut, Bolden flew on four Space Shuttle missions, logging over 680 hours in space.  He piloted Space Shuttle Columbia in 1986 (STS-61C) and Space Shuttle Discovery in 1990 (STS-31) – the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope.