Bolden’s burdens by Jeff Foust

The announcement, when it did come, was something of an anticlimax. A little over a week earlier Bolden’s name emerged as a leading candidate—somewhat surprisingly, since he had not been widely considered a favorite candidate of the Obama Administration previously, despite months of eager support from Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), who flew with Bolden on the shuttle mission immediately before the Challenger accident and now chairs the space subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee. On Tuesday Bolden met with President Obama, but few details about the meeting were released. The president, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a briefing that day, “hopes that he’s [Bolden] the right person to lead NASA in the coming years and through its evolving role.”