NASA ADMINISTRATOR SEAN O'KEEFE RESIGNS

Glenn Mahone/Bob Jacobs
Headquarters, Washington Dec. 13, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-1898/1600)

RELEASE: 04-400

NASA ADMINISTRATOR SEAN O'KEEFE RESIGNS

Administrator Sean O'Keefe, who over the past three
years led the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
through an aggressive and comprehensive management
transformation and helped the agency through one of its most
painful tragedies, resigned today.

In his resignation letter to the President the Administrator
wrote, "I will continue until you have named a successor and
in the hope the Senate will act on your nomination by
February."

"I've been honored to serve this President, the American
people and my talented colleagues here at NASA," said
Administrator O'Keefe. "Together, we've enjoyed
unprecedented success and seen each other through arduous
circumstances. This was the most difficult decision I've
ever made, but it's one I felt was best for my family and
our future."

O'Keefe, 48, is NASA's tenth administrator. Nominated by
President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate,
he was sworn into office Dec. 21, 2001. It was the
Administrator's fourth Presidential appointment.

After joining NASA, Administrator O'Keefe focused his
efforts on successfully bringing financial credibility to
the agency and eliminating a $5 billion budget shortfall for
the International Space Station program. He introduced a
number of innovative management and budget reforms. He led
all federal agencies in the implementation of the
President's Management Agenda, which is designed to make
government more responsive and efficient. In three of the
original five categories on the Agenda, NASA's performance
is at the highest standard.

The tragic loss of seven astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle
Columbia as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere during STS-
107 on Feb. 1, 2003, focused the nation's attention on the
future of America's space program.

Administrator O'Keefe directed significant changes in the
Space Shuttle's safety and management programs. He was a key
architect of the President's new Vision for Space
Exploration, announced in January during a historic speech
at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

The new Vision for Space Exploration led a transformation of
NASA and has positioned the agency to meet the challenges of
safely returning the Space Shuttle to flight, completing the
International Space Station, exploring the complexities of
our home planet, and going back to the moon, on to Mars and
beyond.

"The President and Congress have demonstrated their faith in
us. We need to seize this opportunity," added Administrator
O'Keefe. "NASA has a new direction that will push the
boundaries of technology, science, space flight and
knowledge, and will inspire new generations of explorers for
years to come and secure this great nation's future."

Encouraging students to study mathematics, science and
technology has been a priority for the Administrator. In
April 2002, he unveiled a new Educator Astronaut Program, in
which a select few of the most outstanding teachers would be
chosen to join NASA's Astronaut Corps. The new Educator
Astronaut candidates were introduced in May on Space Day and
are in training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

During his tenure, Administrator O'Keefe realized a number
of significant mission triumphs, including Cassini's
exploration of Saturn and its moons, the recent successful
hypersonic test flights of the X-43A and the historic
landing of the twin Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and
Opportunity on the Red Planet in January.

"NASA is the only agency in the world where its people are
allowed to dream big and then work to make those dreams come
true. Who wouldn't treasure the opportunity to be a part of
pioneering history?" added the Administrator. "I'm humbled
by the dedication and determination of the NASA Family and
their commitment to the future of exploration. I wish each
of them the very best. I am confident in their ability to
carry out what we've started," Administrator O'Keefe
concluded.

Administrator O'Keefe first joined the Bush Administration
as the Deputy Director of the Office of Management and
Budget, overseeing the preparation, management and
administration of the Federal budget and government wide-
management initiatives.

"The extraordinary opportunities you have permitted me to
assume these last four years have been experiences of a
lifetime," the Administrator wrote in his resignation
letter. "In the most challenging moments during my service I
have drawn considerable strength, resolve and determination
to do what's right by the standards you set every day."

From 1989 to 1992, Administrator O'Keefe served as
Comptroller and Chief Financial Officer of the Department of
Defense. President George H. Bush appointed him as the
Secretary of the Navy in July 1992.

Before joining then Defense Secretary Dick Cheney's Pentagon
management team, he served on the United States Senate
Committee on Appropriations staff for eight years, and was
Staff Director of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

His public service began in 1978 when he was selected as a
Presidential Management Intern.

Administrator O'Keefe is a Fellow of the National Academy of
Public Administration; a member of the Committee on Climate
Change Science and Technology; and a Fellow of the
International Academy of Astronautics.

During his academic postings, he was a Visiting Scholar at
the Wolfson College of the University of Cambridge, England;
a member of the Naval Postgraduate School's civil-military
relations seminar team; and conducted seminars for the
Strategic Studies Group at Oxford University.

Administrator O'Keefe served on the national security panel
to devise the 1988 Republican platform and was a member of
the 1985 Kennedy School of Government program for national
security executives at Harvard University.

In 1993, President Bush and Secretary Cheney presented him
the Distinguished Public Service Award. He was the 1999
faculty recipient of the Syracuse University Chancellor's
Award for Public Service; recipient of the Department of the
Navy's Public Service Award in December 2000; and has been
awarded honorary doctorate degrees from several prestigious
educational institutions. In March 2003 and 2004, he was
recognized and honored by the Irish American Magazine as one
of the Top 100 Irish Americans.

He is the author of several journal articles and
contributing author of "Keeping the Edge: Managing Defense
for the Future," released in October 2000. In 1998 he co-
authored "The Defense Industry in the Post-Cold War Era:
Corporate Strategies and Public Policy Perspectives."

Administrator O'Keefe earned his Bachelor of Arts in 1977
from Loyola University in New Orleans and his Master of
Public Administration degree in 1978 from The Maxwell School
of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University,
N.Y.

For more additional information about Administrator O'Keefe
and NASA, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info