Charles Bolden – Leading Us to the Planets and Beyond

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Charles Bolden –Leading Us Into the Future As Head of NASA
By
John C Abercrombie

Charles Bolden, Jr. is a retired NASA administrator who caught my attention for several reasons. The first is that the head of NASA, came from my home state, South Carolina, went to a high school at one of my high school rivals and was going there during the same general time frame as my high school days.

We often think of great people as coming from a distant place, not close by. We don’t think of the possibility that we may have crossed paths.

As I look back, I find that there were not 1, but 2 former astronauts that I may have crossed paths with The other was Dr. Ronald McNair from Lake City, South Carolina. There is a link on Dr. Ron McNair, from Student To Astronaut

There are several incidents in the life of Bolden that are significant, but seldom mentioned.

As the son of a mother and father who were both teachers, he knew the value of education. Education forms a platform from which to launch your success. Not all education comes from a classroom. The classroom forms the basis of sound basics and gives you the basics so you can research and go further than the classroom.

He made the decision to attend the Naval Academy when he was in the 7th grade. This shows the value of setting goals and striving to attain them.

While completing his application for an appointment to the Academy, he was turned down by the South Carolina delegation, most likely because of his race. The contingent of South Carolina was headed by Senator Strom Thurman, a staunch segregationist.

Note: although Strom Thurman was an avowed segregationist and maintained separation of the races under any and all circumstances, it has been widely acknowledged that Thurman had a Black daughter, Essie Mae Washington-Williams. This just points out the complications and hypocrisy of the system.

Bolden was able to get an appointment to the academy with the help of an initiative by President Lyndon Baines Johnson and United States representative William L Dawson from Chicago. While Thurmond did not nominate Bolden, he would send letters of congratulations during his career.

Bolden graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1968 and was respected enough to have been voted class president.

During his career, 2 incidents point out the value of experiences that are life changing.

He was mentored by a member of the United States Marines. He developed a respect for this branch of the military and changed his affiliation from Navy to Marine because of the positive influences of this relationship.

He fell in love with flying on his first flight. Prior to this experience, he had convinced himself that there were 2 things in life that he was not going to be. One was a Marine and the second was a flyer.

These events demonstrate the value of experiences. Many people shortchange themselves of valuable lessons because they don’t expand their world of experiences.

Bolden went on to excel at both things he thought he would never become, a Marine and a pilot!

He flew more than 100 sorties during the Viet Nam war.

A skilled pilot, he graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School in 1979. Serving as an ordnance test pilot, he logged more than 6,000 hours flying time.

He was selected by NASA in May 1980 and held many technical assignments
• Astronaut Safety officer
• Technical Assistant to the Director of Flight Crew Operations
• Special Assistant to the Director of the Johnson Space Center
• Astronaut office Liaison to the Safety Center
• Chief of the Safety Division at Johnson Space Center
• Lead Astronaut for Vehicle Test and Checkout at Kennedy Space Center
• Assistant Deputy Administrator, NASA Headquarters

Bolden has logged more than 680 hours in space as
• Pilot on STS-61-C January 12-18, 1986
• STS-31 April 24-29 1990
• Mission Commander STS-45 March 24-April 2, 1992
• STS-60 February 3-11, 1994

Bolden was the first person to ride the Launch Complex 39 sidewire basket. This device enabled rapid escape from the space shuttle while on the launch pad and the need for this was determined after the launch was aborted on STS-41-D when the controllers were afraid to order the crew to use the untested escape system.

Let’s take a closer look at Bolden’s missions

• The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on January 12, 1986, orbited the Earth 96 times, and ended with a successful night landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California on January 18, 1986.
• Bolden piloted Space Shuttle Discovery during STS-31 deploying the Hubble Space Telescope. They also used a variety of cameras, including both the IMAX in cabin and cargo bay cameras, for Earth observations from their record-setting altitude of over 400 miles. Following 75 orbits of Earth in 121 hours, Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base on April 29, 1990.
• On STS-45, Bolden commanded a crew of seven aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. During the nine-day mission, the crew operated the twelve experiments that constituted the ATLAS-1 (Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science) cargo. ATLAS-1 obtained detailed measurements of atmospheric chemical and physical properties. In addition, this was the first time an artificial beam of electrons was used to stimulate an auroral discharge. Following 143 orbits of Earth, Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center on April 2, 1992.
• Bolden commanded STS-60’s crew of six aboard Discovery. This was the historic first joint-American–Russian Space Shuttle mission involving the participation of a Russian cosmonaut, Sergei Krikalev, as a Mission Specialist. The flight launched on February 3, 1994, from Kennedy Space Center, and carried the Space Habitation Module-2 (SPACEHAB). The mission achieved 130 orbits of the Earth, ending with a landing on February 11, 1994, at the Kennedy Space Center.

In 2009, President Obama nominated Bolden to be administrator of NASA. The nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate and Bolden became the 12th Administrator of NASA on July 17, 2009.

As administrator, Bolden led a nationwide NASA team to advance the mission and goals of the United States Space Program. After taking over, Bolden said, “We’re going to turn science fiction into science fact.”

An effective leader, he has overseen the new era of space exploration, focusing on the full utilization of the International Space Station (ISS). Development of a Space Launch System rocket and he Orion spacecraft to carry astronauts into deep space.

He also established a new Space Technology Mission Directorate. The transition to developing the capacity for commercial cargo resupply to the ISS and the ability of American companies to launch astronauts from American Soil. (we are currently contracting with the Russians to deploy astronauts to the ISS).

As a practical application of the knowledge learned from the space program, we are looking at the development of cleaner, faster and quieter airplanes.

We are focused on the goal of man landing on Mars with the Curiosity rover, spacecraft to Jupiter and deployment of the Webb Space Telescope as successor to the very successful Hubble Space Telescope.

On January 12, 2017, Bolden announced his resignation from NASA during a Town Hall meeting at NASA Headquarters in Washington D.C. His last day would be January 19, 2017.

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Bolden speaking at a USMC recruiting event in 1982
Charles Bolden: Past 8 Years

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