New NASA chief begins major shake-up

"First ousters include 20 officials linked to Mars initiative.

New NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin has decided to replace about 20 senior space agency officials by mid-August in the first stage of a broad agency shake-up. The departures include the two leaders of the human spaceflight program, which is making final preparations to fly the space shuttle for the first time in more than two years.

Senior NASA officials and congressional and aerospace industry sources said yesterday that Griffin wanted to clear away entrenched bureaucracy and build a less political and more scientifically oriented team to implement President Bush's plan to return humans to the moon by 2020 and eventually send them to Mars."

NASA Exec Resigns As Part Of Shakeup

"Bob Chesson, head of the European Space Agency's manned spaceflight operations in Noordwijk, Netherlands, said Griffin likely will replace managers with people who have hands-on experience.

"Griffin will bring back technical leadership as well as looking after the budget," Chesson told Nature. "He wants a similar set-up to the Apollo days."

NASA Internal Memo: Message from Mike