Bolden nominated as NASA chief

Veteran space shuttle commander Charles F. Bolden Jr. has been nominated by President Obama to serve as NASA’s administrator. It's been four months since the departure of former administrator Mike Griffin, a rocket scientist appointed by the Bush administration to oversee the shuttle’s 2010 retirement and development of the Constellation Program, designed to return astronauts to the moon and beyond. (Source: Multiple, 05/23/09) Gulf Coast note: Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and Michoud Assembly Facility and the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing, both in New Orleans, are involved in NASA programs.