President Biden has announced that his NASA deputy administrator nominee will be Pamela Melroy, a retired U.S. Air Force test pilot and a former NASA astronaut and Space Shuttle commander who now serves as an independent consultant and a member of the users advisory group to the National Space Council (NSC). Melroy left USAF in 2007 and NASA in 2009.
The White House said Friday the aerospace executive has experience supporting government and industry in civil, commercial and national security pursuits.
During her government service, Melroy logged over 200 combat and combat support hours as part of Operation Just Cause and Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Her record also includes more than 6,000 hours of flight time aboard 50 different aircraft. At NASA, she participated in three space missions in support of the development of the International Space Station.
Her other stints include time as deputy director of Tactical Technology Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), acting deputy associate administrator for commercial space transportation at the Federal Aviation Administration and deputy program manager for the Lockheed Martin-led Orion Space Exploration Initiatives program.