Bob Jacobs

Headquarters, Washington April 30, 2002

(Phone: 202/358-1600)

RELEASE: 02-78

NASA ADMINISTRATOR NAMES NEW

ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR SAFETY

Bryan D. O'Connor, a former NASA Space Shuttle program

director, astronaut and Marine Corps test pilot, was named
Associate Administrator for the Office of Safety and Mission
Assurance (OSMA) at NASA Headquarters in Washington. He
replaces Frederick D. Gregory, who has been leading the
Office of Space Flight since December.

O'Connor, 55, will be responsible for the oversight of all

agency safety issues through the development, implementation
and oversight of reliability, maintainability and quality
assurance policies. He will report to NASA on June 3, 2002.

"Bryan's distinguished career as both a naval aviator and

NASA astronaut give him the perspective necessary to ensure
the continued safety of our programs," said NASA
Administrator Sean O'Keefe. "His attention and dedication to
safety were signature characteristics during his NASA career,
and I look forward to his stewardship of this vital office."

O'Connor was selected as an astronaut in May 1980 and is a

veteran of two Space Shuttle missions. He was pilot on STS-
61B in 1985 and crew commander of STS-40 in 1991.

When the Space Shuttle Challenger was lost in 1986, he was

given a number of safety and management assignments over the
next three years. O'Connor organized the initial wreckage
reassembly activities at Cape Canaveral, Fla., and
established and managed the operation of the NASA
Headquarters Action Center, the link between the agency and
the Presidential Blue Ribbon Accident Investigation Panel.

In 1986, he was appointed chairman of NASA's new Space Flight

Safety Panel. O'Connor also served as Aviation Safety Officer
for the astronaut corps.

Before joining NASA, O'Connor was a U.S. Marine Corps test

pilot and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis,
Md., in 1968. He flew the A-4 Skyhawk and AV-8A Harrier on
land and sea assignments in the United States, Europe and the
Western Pacific.

O'Connor left NASA in August 1991 to become commanding

officer of the Marine Aviation Detachment, Naval Air Test
Center, Patuxent River, Md. After retiring from the U.S.
Marine Corps, he returned to NASA Headquarters as Deputy
Associate Administrator for the Office of Space Flight and
Space Shuttle program director. Among his other
responsibilities, he developed a comprehensive flight safety
improvement plan for the Space Shuttle.

O'Connor left NASA in February 1996 to become an aerospace

consultant. He rejoins NASA after serving as director of
engineering at Futron Corp., a Washington-based aerospace
safety and risk-management consulting firm.

Additional information about O'Connor and OSMA can be found

on the Internet at:

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codeq

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/oconnor-bd.html

-end-