NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe today said the White
House has officially presented the U.S. Senate with the
nomination of Frederick D. Gregory, astronaut and Associate
Administrator for Space Flight, as the next NASA Deputy
Administrator. Gregory is a veteran Space Shuttle Commander
and former U.S. Air Force combat pilot, and currently leads
NASA’s human space flight endeavors.

If confirmed as Deputy Administrator, Gregory will serve as
the chief operating officer for the agency and report
directly to Administrator O’Keefe. He will be responsible for
directing and managing many of the programs, as well as day-
to-day operations and activities, at NASA. But first, the
Senate Commerce Committee must consider the nomination and
make its recommendation to the full Senate.

“I am pleased to hear that Chairman Hollings has received the
President’s nomination and grateful that his committee is
prepared to give consideration expeditiously,” said
Administrator O’Keefe. “I look forward to Fred assuming his
new role at this critical point in NASA’s history, and I
thank Senator Hollings and his colleagues for their mindful
stewardship of the interests of this agency.”

Senator Hollings, a seven-term Democrat from South Carolina,
serves as Chairman of the Commerce, Science, and
Transportation Committee, and is the fifth most senior member
of the Senate.

Before being named to his current position in December 2001,
Gregory served as Associate Administrator for the Office of
Safety and Mission Assurance and was charged with the
oversight of all safety issues within NASA. He developed,
implemented and managed quality assurance policies that dealt
with reliability and maintainability.

As a NASA astronaut, Gregory logged more than 455 hours in
space during three shuttle missions. In 1985, he served as
pilot on board Challenger during STS-51B. Gregory was mission
commander for STS-33 in 1989 and STS-44 in 1991.

Gregory was selected as an astronaut in 1978, after a
distinguished career with the U.S. Air Force. He logged
nearly 7,000 hours in 50 types of aircraft, including 550
combat missions over Vietnam. He retired as a Colonel in
December 1993.

Gregory has been awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal,
two Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Defense Meritorious
Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, 16 Air Medals,
The Air Force Commendation Medal and three NASA Space Flight
medals.

His honors also include the NASA Distinguished Service Medal,
the NASA Outstanding Leadership Award, the National Society
of Black Engineers Distinguished National Scientist Award,
the George Washington University Distinguished Alumni Award
and an “Ira Eaker Fellow” by the Air Force Association.

Additional information about Gregory is available on the
Internet at:

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/fredbio.html