Charles Bolden

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Charles Frank Bolden Jr. (born August 19, 1946) is a former NASA administrator, a former United States Marine Corps Major General, and a former astronaut. He became a Marine aviator and test pilot after graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1968.

President Barack Obama announced Bolden as the NASA administrator and Lori Garver as deputy NASA administrators after his service as an explorer.

Bolden was confirmed by the Senate on July 15, 2009.

Bolden resigned from NASA on January 12, 2017, the first African American to head the department on a permanent basis, at a town hall meeting at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., he was the first African American to do so.

His last day will be January 19, and Robert M. Lightfoot Jr. was announced as acting NASA Administrator.

Education

In 1964, Bolden graduated from C. A. Johnson High School in Columbia, South Carolina. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California in 1968, where he was a predecessor to current Marine Officer Oliver North, Jim Webb, and Matthew Hagee and later Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen, and Admirals Dennis C. Blair and Jay L. Johnson, and former Marine Officer Alan Burke. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

Personal life

Bolden lives in Houston and is married to Alexis (née Walker); the couple have two children. Bolden is a Christian, as he said in a question and answer session in May 2010: he said in a question and answer session:'Bolden is a Christian.'

"You know, the universe is a vast place." I'm a practicing Christian, so I'm learning about omnipotent, omnipresent God, which means he's everywhere. He's all-knowing. He does everything. And I can't bring my little pea brain to believe that a God like that would select one of millions of suns and say that this is the only place in the vast universe where I'm going to find any kind of life. And so far, I haven't been far enough away."

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Military career

Bolden was turned down for an appointment to the United States Naval Academy by South Carolina's congressional delegation, which included then segregationist Senator Strom Thurmond. Bolden was given his appointment after writing to President Johnson as a high school senior. A recruiter appeared at his house a few weeks later, leading to Bolden's appointment by U.S. Representative William L. Dawson from Chicago, Illinois. Later, Thurmond sent him letters of congratulation at various career milestones.

Following graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1968, Bolden was promoted to a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps (USMC). He was president of his class. He underwent flight training at Pensacola, Florida, Meridian, Mississippi, and Kingsville, Texas, before being named a United States Naval Aviator in May 1970.

In the A-6A Intruder, he travelled into North and South Vietnam, Laos,, and Cambodia, from June 1972 to June 1973, he served more than 100 sorties in North and South Vietnam, Thailand's Laos, and Cambodia. Bolden served for two years in Los Angeles, California, before returning to the United States as a Marine Corps officer selection and recruiting officer.

He graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, in June 1979, and was posted to the Naval Air Test Center's Systems Engineering and Strike Aircraft Test Directorates. He served as an ordnance test pilot and carried out a variety of experiments in the A-6E, EA-6B, and A-7C/E planes while there. He logged more than 6,000 hours in flight.

Bolden was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1980. He served in the NASA Astronaut Corps until 1994, first as the Deputy Commandant of Midshipmen at the Naval Academy, and then as the Deputy Commandant of Midshipmen. He was designated as the Deputy Commanding General of the I Marine Expeditionary Force in July 1997. He served as the Commanding General of I MEF (Forward) in Kuwait from February to June 1998. In July 1998, he was promoted to his final rank of major general and assumed his duties as the Deputy Commander of the United States Forces Japan. He served as the Commanding General, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, from August 9, 2000 to August 2002. In August 2004, he resigned from service.

NASA career

Bolden, who was selected by NASA in May 1980, became an explorer in August 1981. He was one of several astronauts recruited by Nichelle Nichols as part of NASA's drive to increase the number of minority and female astronauts. His technical duties included: Astronaut Office Safety Officer; Technical Assistant to the Director of Flight Crew Operations; Special Assistant to the Director of the Johnson Space Center; and the Kennedy Space Center's Safety Division; Lead Astronaut for Vehicle Test and Checkout; and Assistant Deputy Administrator.

He has flown more than 680 hours in space and has been a veteran of four space flights. Bolden served as a pilot on STS-61-C (January 12-18, 1990) and STS-31 (April 24–29, 1990), and he was the mission commander on STS-45 (March 24 – April 2, 1992).

Bolden was the first person to ride the Launch Complex 39 slidewire baskets, which helped to accelerate from a Space Shuttle on the launch pad. Following a launch abort on STS-41-D, where controllers were reluctant to order the crew to use the untested escape device, a human test was determined.

Bolden, a few years before President Barack Obama's nomination to lead NASA, competed with professional actors for the role of virtual host for NASA's "Shuttle Launch Experience" educational attraction at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Merritt Island, Florida.

Bolden piloted Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-61-C. During the six-day flight, crew members aboard the SATCOM Ku-band satellite and conducted experiments in astrophysics and materials processing. On January 12, 1986, the mission, launched from Kennedy Space Center in 1986, circled the Earth 96 times and ended with a successful night landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

At STS-31, Bolden piloted the Space Shuttle Discovery. The crew spent the five-day mission from Kennedy Space Center, deploying the Hubble Space Telescope and conducting a variety of mid-deck experiments. They also used a variety of cameras, including both the IMAX in cabin and cargo bay cameras, for Earth observations from their record-breaking altitude of over 400 miles. Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base on April 29, 1990, following 75 orbits of Earth in 121 hours.

Bolden commanded a crew of seven aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis, which was launched on March 24, 1992, from Kennedy Space Center. The STS-45 mission was NASA's first spacelab mission dedicated to NASA's "Mission to Planet Earth" mission. The crew carried out the ATLAS-1 (Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science) cargo during its nine-day mission. ATLAS-1 performed detailed measurements of atmospheric chemical and physical properties. In addition,, it was the first time an optical beam of electrons was used to induce an auroral discharge. Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center on April 2, 1992, following 143 orbits of Earth.

Bolden was the command of six people on Discovery's STS-60 crew. This was the first joint-American-Russian Space Shuttle mission involving the participation of a Russian cosmonaut, Sergei Krikalev, as a Mission Specialist. The flight, which originated from Kennedy Space Center and carried the Space Habitation Module-2 (SPACEHAB-2), as well as the Wake Shield Facility. The crew undertook a sequence of joint American-Russian science projects. The mission landed at the Kennedy Space Center on February 11, 1994, ending with a landing.

President Obama nominated Bolden to head NASA in 2009.

Bolden said in a NASA video titled "NASA's New Era of Innovation and Discovery," "We're going to turn science fiction into science fact."

Bolden compared the Constellation Service to a newborn baby calf recovered from a camel's womb by US Marines on the same day. "We've got some stillborn calves around, and we've got to figure out how to help each other bring them back to life," Bolden said.

Bolden said in an interview with Al Jazeera in June 2010 that the top three priorities he was given by President Obama were to inspire children to pursue science and math, to expand NASA's international contacts, and, "perhaps most importantly," "to help them feel good about their contributions to science, math, and engineering." Bolden certainly misspoke, according to the press secretary, "This was not his job, and it is not the responsibility of NASA."

Bolden said that landing astronauts on Mars is his organization's long-term goal. Budget cuts have been cited as a source of concern for large NASA programs, according to him.

He was the first human being to have his voice broadcast on Mars' surface on August 28, 2012. Despite the fact that the rover has no speakers, it did get the word out of his mouth and then reassembled it back to Earth.

In 2013, he appeared in National Aerospace Week as the Administrator of NASA.

Bolden unveiled the next steps in a human journey to Mars at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., on October 28, 2015.

Bolden resigned from NASA at a Town Hall meeting at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., on January 12, 2017, and Robert M. Lightfoot Jr. was named as acting NASA Administrator.

Bolden has served on the United Arab Emirates Space Advisory Committee since leaving NASA.

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