Administrator of NASA

Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
	NASA Seal; Constituent part of the administrator's standard
	Incumbent; Bill Nelson; since May 3, 2021
Reports to	President
Seat	Washington, D.C.
Nominator	President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	At the pleasure of the President
Constituting instrument	51 U.S.C. § 20111
Inaugural holder	Thomas Keith Glennan
Salary	$221,900 annually ; (Executive Schedule II)
Website	Bill Nelson, NASA

The administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the highest-ranking official of NASA, the national space agency of the United States. The administrator is NASA's chief decision maker, responsible for providing clarity to the agency's vision and serving as a source of internal leadership within NASA. The office holder also has an important place within United States space policy,^[1] and is assisted by a deputy administrator.

The administrator is appointed by the president of the United States, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, and thereafter serves at the president's pleasure. Former senator and astronaut Bill Nelson has served as the administrator since May 3, 2021. Entrepreneur and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman has been the nominee for NASA administrator since December 4, 2024.

Duties and responsibilities

The administrator serves as NASA's chief executive officer, accountable to the President for the leadership necessary to achieve the agency's mission. This leadership requires articulating the agency's vision, setting its programmatic and budget priorities and internal policies, and assessing Agency performance.^[2]

History

The first administrator of NASA was Dr. T. Keith Glennan; during his term he brought together the disparate projects in space development research in the US.^[3] Daniel Goldin held the post for the longest term (nearly 10 years), and is best known for pioneering the "faster, better, cheaper" approach to space programs.^[4] The only person to hold the post twice is James C. Fletcher, who returned to NASA following the Challenger disaster.^[5]

The current administrator is former senator and astronaut Bill Nelson, who was nominated by President Joe Biden on March 19, 2021,^[6] confirmed by the Senate on April 29, and officially sworn in on May 3.^[7] The current nominee for administrator is entrepreneur and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman, who was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump on December 4, 2024.^[8]

List of administrators

Status

Denotes an acting administrator of NASA

Denotes a presumptive nominee

No.	Name	Took office	Left office	Days served
1	T. Keith Glennan	August 19, 1958	January 20, 1961	885	Dwight D. Eisenhower
-	Hugh Dryden	January 11, 1961	February 14, 1961	24	John F. Kennedy
2	James E. Webb	February 14, 1961	October 7, 1968	1,035	John F. Kennedy
2	James E. Webb	February 14, 1961	October 7, 1968	1,781 (2,816 total)	Lyndon B. Johnson
3	Thomas O. Paine	October 8, 1968	March 21, 1969	104	Lyndon B. Johnson
		October 8, 1968	March 21, 1969	60	Richard Nixon
		March 21, 1969	September 15, 1970	543 (707 total)
-	George Low	September 16, 1970	April 26, 1971	222
4	James C. Fletcher	April 27, 1971	May 1, 1977	1,200
				895	Gerald Ford
				101 (3258 total)	Jimmy Carter
-	Alan M. Lovelace	May 2, 1977	June 20, 1977	49
5	Robert A. Frosch	June 21, 1977	January 20, 1981	1,309
-	Alan M. Lovelace	January 21, 1981	July 10, 1981	171 (220 total)	Ronald Reagan
6	James M. Beggs	July 10, 1981	December 4, 1985	1,608
-	William Graham	December 4, 1985	May 11, 1986	158
7	James C. Fletcher	May 12, 1986	April 8, 1989	984
7	James C. Fletcher	May 12, 1986	April 8, 1989	78 (3258 total)	George H. W. Bush
-	Dale D. Myers	April 8, 1989	May 13, 1989	35
8	Richard H. Truly	May 14, 1989	June 30, 1989	47
8	Richard H. Truly	July 1, 1989	March 31, 1992	1,004 (1,052 total)
9	Daniel Goldin	April 1, 1992	November 17, 2001	294
				2,922	Bill Clinton
				301 (3,517 total)	George W. Bush
-	Daniel Mulville	November 19, 2001	December 21, 2001	32
10	Sean O'Keefe	December 21, 2001	February 11, 2005	1,148
-	Frederick D. Gregory	February 11, 2005	April 14, 2005	62
11	Michael D. Griffin	April 14, 2005	January 20, 2009	1,377
-	Christopher Scolese	January 20, 2009	July 17, 2009	178	Barack Obama
12	Charles Bolden	July 17, 2009	January 20, 2017	2,744	Barack Obama
-	Robert M. Lightfoot Jr.	January 20, 2017	April 23, 2018	458	Donald Trump
13	Jim Bridenstine	April 23, 2018	January 20, 2021	1,003	Donald Trump
-	Steve Jurczyk	January 20, 2021	May 3, 2021	103	Joe Biden
14	Bill Nelson	May 3, 2021	Incumbent	1,327	Joe Biden
-	Jared Isaacman	-	Nominee^[8]	-	Donald Trump