Administrator of NASA

{{Short description|Head of the US independent space agency}} {{Use American English|date=January 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2018}} {{Infobox official post | post = Administrator | body = the National Aeronautics and Space Administration | insignia = NASA seal.svg | insigniasize = 120 | insigniacaption = Seal of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration | flag = | flagborder = yes | flagsize = 130 | flagcaption = Flag of the secretary | image = Jared isaacman official portrait.jpg | incumbent = Jared Isaacman | acting = no | incumbentsince = December 18, 2025 | department = National Aeronautics and Space Administration | reports_to = President of the United States | seat = Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. | appointer = The president | appointer_qualified = with advice and consent of the Senate | termlength = No fixed term | constituting_instrument = {{USC|51|20111}} | formation = {{start date and age|1958|08|19}} | first = T. Keith Glennan | deputy = Deputy Administrator | salary = Executive Schedule, Level II | website = {{url|nasa.gov}} }}

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,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codez/strahand/roles.htm |title=NASA Strategic Management Handbook |access-date=April 23, 2021 |archive-date=May 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510235557/https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codez/strahand/roles.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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. Jared Isaacman has served as the administrator since December 18, 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jared Isaacman Nominated as Nasa Administrator |date=December 17, 2025 |access-date=December 17, 2025 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ydvlx28kwo }}</ref>

==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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codez/plans/Handbook00/chap2.html |title=Chapter 2-Roles and Responsibilities |access-date=April 23, 2021 |archive-date=April 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425133519/https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codez/plans/Handbook00/chap2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==History== thumb|Six former NASA administrators in 1980: (from left) James E. Webb, T. Keith Glennan, Robert A Frosch, Thomas O. Paine, George M. Low, and Alan M. Lovelace

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.<ref name="glennan_biography">{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Biographies/glennan.html |title=T. Keith Glennan biography |publisher=NASA |date=August 4, 2006 |access-date= July 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708214210/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Biographies/glennan.html |archive-date= July 8, 2008 |url-status= live}}</ref> Glennan presided over an organization that had absorbed the earlier National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) intact; its 8,000 employees, an annual budget of $100 million, and three major research laboratories—Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, and Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory—and two small test facilities made up the core of the new NASA. Within a short time after NASA's formal organization, Glennan incorporated several organizations involved in space exploration projects from other federal agencies into NASA. He brought in part of the Naval Research Laboratory and created the Goddard Space Flight Center. He also incorporated several disparate satellite programs, two lunar probes, and the research effort to develop a million pound force (4.4 MN) thrust, single-chamber rocket engine from the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Department of Defense's (DOD) Advanced Research Projects Agency. In December 1958 Glennan also acquired control of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a contractor facility operated by the California Institute of Technology. In 1960, Glennan obtained the transfer to NASA of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, located at Huntsville, Alabama, and renamed it the Marshall Space Flight Center.

The second administrator, James E. Webb, served from 1961 to 1968, from the beginning of the Kennedy administration through the end of the Johnson administration, thus overseeing each of the critical first crewed missions throughout the Mercury and Gemini programs until days before the launch of the first Apollo mission. He also dealt with the Apollo 1 fire.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Lambright | first1=W. Henry | title=James E. Webb: A Dominant Force in 20th Century Public Administration | journal=Public Administration Review | date=1993 | volume=53 | issue=2 | pages=95–99 | doi=10.2307/976701 | jstor=976701 | url=https://doi.org/10.2307/976701 | url-access=subscription }}</ref> During Webb's administration, NASA developed from a loose collection of research centers to a coordinated organization. He had a key role in creating the Manned Spacecraft Center, later the Johnson Space Center, in Houston. Despite the pressures to focus on the Apollo program, Webb ensured that NASA carried out a program of planetary exploration with the Mariner and Pioneer space programs. Webb was an early champion of space telescopes,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://webb.nasa.gov/content/about/faqs/whoIsJamesWebb.html|title=James Webb Space Telescope – Who is James Webb|date=June 2022 |publisher=NASA|access-date=November 29, 2022|archive-date=January 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114142508/https://webb.nasa.gov/content/about/faqs/whoIsJamesWebb.html|url-status=live}}</ref> like the one that would later bear his name. Encouraged by Kennedy and Johnson, Webb made racial integration a priority for the agency. NASA publicly supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964<ref name="moss">{{cite report|last=Moss|first=Steven L.|title=NASA and racial equality in the south, 1961–1968|url=https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/handle/2346/17967|date=December 1997|website=Texas Tech University Libraries|access-date=November 29, 2022|archive-date=January 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114142506/https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/items/a240df45-756c-44f8-93f8-43a4f6df853d|url-status=live}}</ref> and initiated a series of innovative programs aimed at increasing black participation<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/how-nasa-joined-civil-rights-revolution-180949497/|title=How NASA Joined the Civil Rights Revolution|date=March 2014|last=Paul|first=Richard|publisher=Air & Space Magazine|access-date=November 29, 2022|archive-date=January 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114142505/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/how-nasa-joined-civil-rights-revolution-180949497/|url-status=live}}</ref> including specifically targeting black colleges and schools with recruitment programs.<ref name=vonbraun>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/chasing-moon-von-braun-record-on-civil-rights/|title=Wernher von Braun's Record on Civil Rights|first1=Steven|last1=Moss|first2=Richard|last2=Paul|date=May 11, 2019|publisher=PDB|access-date=November 29, 2022|archive-date=January 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114142524/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/chasing-moon-von-braun-record-on-civil-rights/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The only person to hold the post twice is James C. Fletcher. During his first administration at NASA, Fletcher was responsible for beginning the Space Shuttle effort, as well as the Viking program that sent landers to Mars. He oversaw the Skylab missions and approved the Voyager space probes and the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project. He returned to NASA following the ''Challenger'' disaster.<ref name="fletcher">{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Biographies/fletcher.html |title=James C. Fletcher biography |publisher=NASA |access-date=July 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706164016/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Biographies/fletcher.html |archive-date= July 6, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref name="goldin_biography">{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/dan_goldin.html |title=Daniel S. Goldin biography |publisher=NASA |date=March 12, 2004 |access-date= July 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080615143450/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/dan_goldin.html |archive-date=June 15, 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

The current administrator is entrepreneur and philanthropist Jared Isaacman, who was nominated by President Donald Trump on November 5, 2025.<ref>|title=Nomination of Jared Isaacman|https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c78ze3r1xrro</ref> He replaced Sean Duffy, who served as acting administrator from July 9, 2025 to December 17, 2025.<ref>{{cite web | title=Sean Duffy to be Acting NASA Administrator | website=TheGuardian.com | url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/10/sean-duffy-nasa-trump-appointment | access-date=2025-02-06}}</ref> Jared Isaacman was nominated by Trump (while he was president-elect) on December 4, 2024,<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2024-12-04 |title=Trump Picks Jared Isaacman as NASA Administrator |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-04/trump-picks-jared-isaacman-as-nasa-administrator |access-date=2024-12-04 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}</ref> but his nomination was withdrawn on May 31,<ref>{{Cite news |title=White House to pull NASA nominee Isaacman |url=https://www.semafor.com/article/05/31/2025/white-house-expected-to-pull-nasa-nominee-isaacman |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250531195704/https://www.semafor.com/article/05/31/2025/white-house-expected-to-pull-nasa-nominee-isaacman |archive-date=May 31, 2025 |access-date=2025-05-31 |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> reportedly because of his connections to Elon Musk and donations towards Democratic, anti-Trump politicians.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Swan |first1=Jonathan |last2=Haberman |first2=Maggie |last3=Chang |first3=Kenneth |date=2025-05-31 |title=Trump to Withdraw Musk's Ally as Nominee for Top NASA Job |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/31/us/politics/trump-nasa-nominee-musk.html |access-date=2025-05-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

== List of administrators == ; Status {{legend|#E6E6AA|Denotes an ''acting administrator of NASA''|border=black}}  {| class="wikitable" style="clear:right; text-align:center" |- ! No. ! Portrait ! Name ! Took office ! Left office ! Days served ! colspan="2" | President {{small|serving under}} |- | 1 | 100px|T. Keith Glennan | T. Keith Glennan | August 19, 1958 | January 20, 1961 | {{age in days|format=commas|1958|8|19|1961|1|20}} | style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | || Dwight D. Eisenhower |- | style="background:#E6E6AA;" | - | style="background:#E6E6AA;" | 100px|Hugh Dryden | style="background:#E6E6AA;" | Hugh Dryden | style="background:#E6E6AA;" | January 11, 1961 | style="background:#E6E6AA;" | February 14, 1961 | style="background:#E6E6AA;" | {{age in days|format=commas|1961|1|21|1961|2|14}} | rowspan="2" style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" | | rowspan="2" | John F. Kennedy |- | rowspan="2" | 2 | rowspan="2" | 100px|James E. Webb | rowspan="2" | James E. Webb | rowspan="2" | February 14, 1961 | rowspan="2" | October 7, 1968 | {{age in days|format=commas|1961|1|21|1963|11|22}} |- | {{age in days|format=commas|1963|11|22|1968|10|7}} {{small|({{age in days|format=commas|1961|1|21|1968|10|7}} total)}} | rowspan="2" style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" | | rowspan="2" | Lyndon B. Johnson |- | rowspan="3" | 3 | rowspan="3" | 100px|Thomas O. Paine | rowspan="3" | Thomas O. Paine | rowspan="2" style="background: #E6E6AA;" | October 8, 1968 | rowspan="2" style="background: #E6E6AA;" | March 21, 1969 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | {{age in days|format=commas|1968|10|8|1969|1|20}} |- | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | {{age in days|format=commas|1969|1|20|1969|3|21}} | rowspan="4" style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | | rowspan="4" | Richard Nixon |- |March 21, 1969 |September 15, 1970 |{{age in days|format=commas|1969|3|21|1970|9|15}} {{small|({{age in days|format=commas|1968|10|8|1970|9|15}} total)}} |- | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | - | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | 100px|George Low | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | George Low | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | September 16, 1970 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | April 26, 1971 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | {{age in days|format=commas|1970|9|16|1971|4|26}} |- | rowspan="3" | 4 | rowspan="3" | 100px|James C. Fletcher | rowspan="3" | James C. Fletcher | rowspan="3" | April 27, 1971 | rowspan="3" | May 1, 1977 | {{age in days|format=commas|1971|4|27|1974|8|9}} |- | {{age in days|format=commas|1974|8|9|1977|1|20}} | style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | | Gerald Ford |- | {{age in days|format=commas|1977|1|20|1977|5|1}} {{small|(3258 total)}} | rowspan="3" style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" | | rowspan="3" | Jimmy Carter |- | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | - | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | 100px|Alan M. Lovelace | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | Alan M. Lovelace | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | May 2, 1977 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | June 20, 1977 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | {{age in days|format=commas|1977|5|2|1977|6|20}} |- | 5 | 100px|Robert A. Frosch | Robert A. Frosch | June 21, 1977 | January 20, 1981 | {{age in days|format=commas|1977|6|21|1981|1|20}} |- | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | - | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | 100px|Alan M. Lovelace | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | Alan M. Lovelace | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | January 21, 1981 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | July 10, 1981 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | {{age in days|format=commas|1981|1|20|1981|7|10}} (220 total) | rowspan="4" style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | | rowspan="4" | Ronald Reagan |- | 6 | 100px|James M. Beggs | James M. Beggs | July 10, 1981 | December 4, 1985 | {{age in days|format=commas|1981|7|10|1985|12|4}} |- | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | - | style="background: #E6E6AA;" |100px|William Graham | style="background: #E6E6AA;" |William Graham | style="background: #E6E6AA;" |December 4, 1985 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" |May 11, 1986 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" |{{age in days|format=commas|1985|12|4|1986|5|11}} |- | rowspan="2" | 7 | rowspan="2" | 100px|James C. Fletcher | rowspan="2" | James C. Fletcher | rowspan="2" | May 12, 1986 | rowspan="2" | April 8, 1989 | {{age in days|format=commas|1986|5|12|1989|1|20}} |- | {{age in days|format=commas|1989|1|20|1989|4|8}} (3258 total) | rowspan="5" style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | | rowspan="5" | George H. W. Bush |- | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | - | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | 100px|Dale D. Myers | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | Dale D. Myers | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | April 8, 1989 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | May 13, 1989 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | {{age in days|format=commas|1989|4|8|1989|5|13}} |- | rowspan="2" | 8 | rowspan="2" | 100px|Richard H. Truly | rowspan="2" | Richard H. Truly | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | May 14, 1989 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | June 30, 1989 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | {{age in days|format=commas|1989|5|14|1989|6|30}} |- | July 1, 1989 | March 31, 1992 |{{age in days|format=commas|1989|7|1|1992|3|31}} {{small|({{age in days|format=commas|1989|5|14|1992|3|31}} total)}} |- | rowspan="3" | 9 | rowspan="3" | 100px|Daniel Goldin | rowspan="3" | Daniel Goldin | rowspan="3" | April 1, 1992 | rowspan="3" | November 17, 2001 | {{age in days|format=commas|1992|4|1|1993|1|20}} |- | {{age in days|format=commas|1993|1|20|2001|1|20}} | style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" | | Bill Clinton |- |{{age in days|format=commas|2001|1|20|2001|11|17}} ({{age in days|format=commas|1992|4|1|2001|11|17}} total) | rowspan="5" style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | | rowspan="5" | George W. Bush |- | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | - | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | 100px|Daniel Mulville | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | Daniel Mulville | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | November 19, 2001 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | December 21, 2001 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | {{age in days|format=commas|2001|11|19|2001|12|21}} |- | 10 | 100px|Sean O'Keefe | Sean O'Keefe | December 21, 2001 | February 11, 2005 | {{age in days|format=commas|2001|12|21|2005|2|11}} |- | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | - | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | 100px|Frederick D. Gregory | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | Frederick D. Gregory | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | February 11, 2005 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | April 14, 2005 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | {{age in days|format=commas|2005|2|11|2005|4|14}} |- | 11 | 100px|Michael D. Griffin | Michael D. Griffin | April 14, 2005 | January 20, 2009 | {{age in days|format=commas|2005|4|14|2009|1|20}} |- | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | - | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | 100px|Christopher Scolese | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | Christopher Scolese | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | January 20, 2009 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | July 17, 2009 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | {{age in days|format=commas|2009|1|20|2009|7|17}} | rowspan="2" style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" | | rowspan="2" | Barack Obama |- | 12 | 100px|Charles Bolden | Charles Bolden | July 17, 2009 | January 20, 2017 | {{age in days|format=commas|2009|7|17|2017|1|20}} |- | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | - | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | 100px|Robert Lightfoot | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | Robert M. Lightfoot Jr. | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | January 20, 2017 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | April 23, 2018 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | {{age in days|format=commas|2017|1|20|2018|4|23}} | rowspan="2" style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | | rowspan="2" | Donald Trump |- | 13 | 100px|Jim Bridenstine | Jim Bridenstine | April 23, 2018 | January 20, 2021 | {{age in days|format=commas|2018|4|23|2021|1|20}} |- | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | - | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | 100px|Steve Jurczyk | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | Steve Jurczyk | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | January 20, 2021 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | May 3, 2021 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | {{age in days|format=commas|2021|1|20|2021|5|3}} | rowspan="2" style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" | | rowspan="2" | Joe Biden |- | 14 | 136x136px|Bill Nelson | Bill Nelson | May 3, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | {{age in days|format=commas|2021|5|3|2025|1|20}} |- | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | - | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | 100px|Janet Petro | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | Janet Petro | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | January 20, 2025 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | July 9, 2025 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | {{age in days|format=commas|2025|1|20|2025|7|9}} | rowspan="3" style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | | rowspan="3" | Donald Trump |- | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | - | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | 124x124px|Sean Duffy | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | Sean Duffy | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | July 9, 2025 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | December 18, 2025 | style="background: #E6E6AA;" | {{age in days|format=commas|2025|7|9|2025|12|18}} |- | 15 | alt=Jared Isaacman official portrait, photographed by Bill Ingalls|116x116px | Jared Isaacman | December 18, 2025 | Incumbent | {{age in days|format=commas|2025|12|18}} |}

== Line of succession == The line of succession for the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is as follows:<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2009/01/22/E9-1539/designation-of-officers-of-the-national-aeronautics-and-space-administration-to-act-as-administrator|title=Designation of Officers of the National Aeronautics And Space Administration To Act as Administrator|date=January 22, 2009|newspaper=Federal Register|access-date=October 30, 2016|archive-date=October 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030201415/https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2009/01/22/E9-1539/designation-of-officers-of-the-national-aeronautics-and-space-administration-to-act-as-administrator|url-status=live}}</ref> # Deputy Administrator of NASA # Associate administrator of NASA # Chief of staff of NASA # Director of Johnson Space Center (Houston, Texas) # Director of Kennedy Space Center (Merritt Island, Florida) # Director of Marshall Space Flight Center (Redstone Arsenal, Alabama) ''In the event of there being no deputy administrator of NASA, the associate administrator will serve as acting administrator.''

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Administrator Of The National Aeronautics And Space Administration}} Category:Administrators of NASA Category:1958 establishments in the United States