NASA chief resigns after 3 years
O'Keefe expected to become chancellor of LSU
(CNN) -- NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe resigned Monday after three years in the post, a tenure that was marred by the space shuttle Columbia disaster that killed all seven astronauts on board. He is expected to take the chancellor's job at Louisiana State University.
In his resignation letter to President Bush, O'Keefe said he would remain on the job until a successor is named and "in the hope the Senate will act on your nomination by February."
"I've been honored to serve this president, the American people and my talented colleagues here at NASA," O'Keefe said in a NASA press release. "Together, we've enjoyed unprecedented success and seen each other through arduous circumstances. This was the most difficult decision I've ever made, but it's one I felt was best for my family and our future."
Shortly after joining NASA in December 2001, O'Keefe focused on eliminating a $5 billion budget shortfall for the international space station program, and he sought to introduce other management and budget reforms.
He had been expected to be a transitional figure when he arrived at NASA as the agency's 10th administrator, in place for the short term to fix budget strains created by the international space station.
But he also has faced criticism from within the agency for his decision to stop servicing the Hubble Space Telescope, a decision that will bring an end in the coming years to the historic observatory that has revolutionized astronomy.
A new congressionally mandated report has recommended NASA dispatch a space shuttle mission to service it soon after the shuttle fleet is safely returned to flight. The report rejected NASA's position that any future Hubble servicing mission would have to be conducted robotically.
O'Keefe, 48, was also at the helm when Bush laid out his bold new vision for the space program with the return of a manned moon mission and a manned mission to Mars. Under that initiative, the space shuttle program is to be retired by 2010. ( Full story)
But it was the space shuttle Columbia tragedy that marked O'Keefe's tenure (Special Report). The shuttle disintegrated on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003, and O'Keefe was thrust into a long-term investigation and reorganization of NASA operations.
O'Keefe recently announced that the next space shuttle is expected to fly to the space station in May 2005. (Full story)
In his letter to Bush, O'Keefe thanked the president for "experiences of a lifetime."
"In the most challenging moments during my service, I have drawn considerable strength, resolve and determination to do what's right by the standards you set every day."
White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters that O'Keefe is "someone the president believes has done a great job over at NASA."
A native of Louisiana, O'Keefe is expected to take the chancellor's job at LSU, a post with pay several times that of his current salary of $158,000 per year. Sources familiar with the situation said the salary played a key role in O'Keefe's decision to leave.
O'Keefe moved in 2001 from the Office of Management and Budget to the space agency, which he found beset by low morale and budget problems. With a background in academia, he came to the OMB from Syracuse University.
O'Keefe will meet Wednesday with faculty and students at LSU and with the chancellor's search committee Thursday afternoon, said LSU spokesman Charles Zewe.
If the committee recommends he be hired, it would give the recommendation to the system president, who could forward it to the board of supervisors. They could vote as soon as Thursday, Zewe said.
Although the next chancellor's salary has not yet been determined, the former jobholder, Mark Emmert, was making approximately $590,000 per year, said Zewe, who cited the Chronicle of Higher Education as the source.
"It's a job that pays well," he said.
Emmert is now the president of the University of Washington.
