Nov 16, 2012

David Weaver Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600 david s weaver@nasa gov

RELEASE: 12-398

NASA ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP CHANGES AT GLENN AND JOHNSON

WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced leadership changes Friday for the agency's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and Johnson Space Center in Houston

James Free will succeed Ramon (Ray) Lugo as Glenn's center director when Lugo retires in January Free has served as Glenn's deputy director since January 2011

Ellen Ochoa will succeed Michael Coats as Johnson's center director when Coats retires at the end of the year Ochoa has served as Johnson's deputy director since September 2007

"Ellen and Jim are experienced, outstanding leaders who I know will continue to do great things as they take the helms of their field centers," Bolden said "I also want to thank Mike and Ray for their years of leadership and dedicated service at NASA, most recently while guiding Johnson and Glenn through pivotal times for those centers I am sad to see Mike leave, as he and I have been close friends and allies since coming together in the summer of 1964 as new plebes in the Great Naval Academy class of 1968 I also want to thank Ray for his years of tireless work at NASA, for a long while on the team at the Kennedy Space Center and, most recently, while leading Glenn "

Free began his career in 1990 at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md as a propulsion engineer and later as a systems engineer on NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellites He joined Glenn in 1999 as the International Space Station liaison for the Fluids and Combustion Facility His other NASA assignments have included director of Space Flight Systems at Glenn, Orion Service Module manager at Glenn and chief of the center's Orion Project Office He also worked at Johnson as the Orion Test and Verification manager

Ochoa is a four-time space shuttle astronaut who previously served as director and deputy director of flight crew operations at Johnson She managed the Intelligent Systems Technology Branch at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif , before being selected as an astronaut candidate in 1990 Ochoa flew on space shuttle missions STS-56 in 1993, STS-66 in 1994, STS-96 in 1999, and STS-110 in 2002, logging a total of 978 hours in space

Lugo's retirement brings to a close a 37-year career at NASA In 1975, he began working at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as a cooperative education student His first assignment was in the Construction and Modifications Branch as an engineer responsible for construction modifications to Launch Pad 39A in preparation for the first space shuttle mission His other NASA assignments included serving as Glenn's deputy center director and deputy program manager for NASA's Launch Services Program

Former space shuttle commander Coats was selected as an astronaut candidate from the U S Navy in 1978 He flew on three shuttle missions, serving as pilot for STS-41-D in 1984 and commander for STS-29 in 1989 and STS-39 in 1991 Following his final shuttle mission, Coats retired from the Navy and NASA's Astronaut Office in August 1991 to join the private sector He returned to NASA in 2005 to become Johnson's 10th center director

For more information about NASA missions and programs, visit:

http://www nasa gov

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