NASA Names Strain New Goddard Space Flight Center Director

July 17, 2008

David Mould/Jason S. Sharp
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600/5213
david.r.mould@xxxxxxxx, jason.s.sharp@xxxxxxxx

Mark Hess
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-6255
mark.s.hess@xxxxxxxx

RELEASE: 08-179

NASA NAMES STRAIN NEW GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER DIRECTOR

WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Michael Griffin on Thursday
announced
that Rob Strain will be the next center director of NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Strain is currently the head of
the Space Department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Lab in Laurel, Md. He will assume his duties as center director on
Aug. 4.

Goddard Space Flight Center is located approximately 6 miles
northeast
of Washington, near the Capital Beltway. The center is a major U.S.
laboratory for developing and operating unmanned scientific
spacecraft. Goddard manages many of NASA's Earth observation,
astronomy and space physics missions. Goddard includes several other
NASA installations, most significantly the Wallops Flight Facility
near Chincoteague, Va., and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies
in New York.

"My association with Rob Strain spans years of shared experiences in
both industry and at the Applied Physics Laboratory," said Griffin.
"He is one of the finest managers I know, and complements those
talents with equally impressive 'people skills' and an unbending
sense of personal integrity. I am truly looking forward to his
addition to a superbly talented NASA management team."

Strain previously served as the associate department head and
assistant department head for operations at the Applied Physics Lab's
Space Division. Prior to his work at the Applied Physics Lab, Strain
held various executive positions with Axiom Corporation, Orbital
Sciences Corporation and Fairchild Space and Defense Company.

For more information on NASA and its programs, please visit:

http://www.nasa.gov


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