NASA director lobbying Trump administration to appoint Carthage native as deputy administrator

Twenty years after her first space shuttle trip, Carthage High School and Missouri Southern State University graduate Janet Kavandi may be headed for the number two position at NASA.

Space News reports NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine is lobbying the Trump Administration to appoint Kavandi deputy administrator. If Kavandi is appointed, she would have to be approved by the Senate:

Bridenstine offered his endorsement of Kavandi after being asked about the status of the deputy administrator position, which has been vacant since the beginning of the Trump administration last January. He said the position is critical given the number of major development activities, including commercial crew, the Space Launch System and Orion, in progress. 

“It needs to be somebody who has a lot of space experience, a space professional,” he said. “It needs to be somebody who has run large organizations, who understands the technology. A scientist would be great.” Kavandi has a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Washington.

Kavandi is currently serving as director of NASA's Glenn Research Center.

(The accompanying photo is from NASA. My recollections of how the Carthage Press covered Janet Kavandi's first space shuttle flight, which happened 20 years ago June 2 can be found at this link.)