List of Administrators and Deputy Administrators of NASA

The Administrator and Deputy Administrator of NASA are the highest-ranked officials of NASA, the space agency of the United States. The Administrator serves as the senior space science adviser to the President of the United States. According to NASA, the role of the Administrator is to "lead the NASA team and manage its resources to advance the Vision for Space Exploration." The Deputy Administrator of NASA "serves as the agency’s second in command and is responsible to the administrator for providing overall leadership, planning, and policy direction for the agency. He represents NASA to the Executive Office of the President, Congress, heads of federal and other appropriate government agencies, international organizations, and external organizations and communities. He also oversees the day to day work of NASA’s functional offices, such as the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of General Counsel and Strategic Communications", according to NASA (referring to Shana Dale).

The first Administrator of NASA was Dr. T. Keith Glennan; during his term he brought together the disparate projects in space development research in the US. Daniel Goldin held the post for the longest term (nearly 10 years), and is best known for pioneering the "faster, better, cheaper" approach to space programs. The only person to hold the post twice is James C. Fletcher, who returned to NASA following the Challenger disaster.

The longest-running (acting) Deputy Administrator was John R. Dailey, who held the post following his retirement from the United States Marine Corps. The longest-running full Deputy Administrator was Hugh Latimer Dryden, who was the first Deputy Administrator. William R. Graham has held the post of Deputy Administrator twice, and was the acting Administrator in between, as did Frederick D. Gregory. Dr. Daniel Mulville served as the acting Deputy Administrator twice, and was acting Administrator in between.

The current Administrator of NASA is Charles Bolden. His nomination was announced on May 24, 2009 by President Barack Obama, and he was formally appointed upon successful confirmation by the United States Senate on July 15, 2009. He started his position on July 17, 2009. Dava Newman is the current Deputy Administrator. Her nomination was announced on October 17, 2014.