WASHINGTON – Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science and Space, today congratulated Michael L. Coats who has been named as director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
“I look forward to working closely with Michael Coats as the new director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston. He brings with him a thorough understanding of the challenge of human space flight,” Sen. Hutchison said. “Michael Coats is rejoining the NASA team during the historic year of Shuttle Discovery’s successful Return to Flight mission. As the Center manages the program to develop the next generation U.S. human space flight vehicle, having someone guiding the Center who knows first-hand the requirements for crew systems and crew safety is critical.”
Michael Coats, a former astronaut, currently serves as a Vice President of Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver, Colorado. He joined NASA in 1978 as a member of the first astronaut class specifically selected to fly the space shuttle. Michael Coats replaces Jefferson D. Howell, Jr. and will be the ninth person to serve as director of the Center.
