HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. -NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin appointed
Mississippi native Roy Estess, director of NASA’s Stennis Space Center, acting director
of Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. JSC Director George Abbey
has been appointed to a position at NASA Headquarters to serve as
Administrator Goldin’s Senior Assistant for International Issues. Mark
Craig, who has been Deputy Director of Stennis Space Center since 1995, will
serve as Acting Director of Stennis Space Center.
“We face a difficult and challenging future within the space program, and
Roy Estess, working closely with Joe Rothenberg, Associate Administrator for
Space Flight, will ensure a firm footing during this period,” said Goldin.
Estess’ 40-year career in critical engineering and management positions
distinguished him as a recognized leader. He received the Presidential
Distinguished Service Award on two occasions. Rothenberg will have the
responsibility, along with Estess, to make recommendations for JSC’s new
leader.
A graduate of Mississippi State University, Estess served as Deputy Director
of
Stennis Space Center from 1980 through 1988, becoming Center Director in
1989. From 1992 to 1993, he was temporarily assigned to NASA Headquarters in
Washington, D.C. as a special assistant to two consecutive NASA
administrators.
Prior to coming to Stennis, Craig held management positions at JSC and at
NASA Headquarters on a variety of space exploration programs. As staff to
the NASA Administrator, he was the principal architect of both the NASA
Strategic Plan and the strategy for the human exploration and development of
space. He and his wife, Christy, and two daughters live in Picayune, Miss.
Photos are available upon request.
