President Will Name Truly to Head NASA

President Bush turned Wednesday to Navy Rear Adm. Richard H. Truly, a veteran of two space shuttle flights, to take over the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

“This marks the first time in its distinguished history that NASA will be led by a hero of its own making, an astronaut who has been to space,” Bush said at a White House ceremony at which he announced his plans to nominate Truly to succeed James C. Fletcher.

Truly has been the agency’s associate administrator for space flight since 1986. He was the pilot of the Columbia on the second shuttle flight, and commanded the eighth flight.

He became a central figure in the agency’s operations after the Challenger disaster on Jan. 28, 1986, leading the NASA recovery team and taking charge of the redesign of the shuttle’s boosters and safety procedures.

Design flaws in the boosters were blamed for the Challenger disaster. After their redesign and an overhaul of safety operations, the shuttle program resumed flights last September.

As an active duty naval officer, Truly must obtain the assent of Congress to move into a job designated for a civilian. A White House spokesman said that such approval has been obtained. Senate confirmation also is required.

Truly holds a bachelor of aeronautical engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Navy in 1959.