Chief of the Astronaut Office


The Chief of the Astronaut Office is the most senior leadership position for active astronauts at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Chief Astronaut serves as head of the NASA Astronaut Corps and is the principal advisor to the NASA Administrator on astronaut training and operations.

History

When Deke Slayton was grounded from the Mercury Seven due to a heart condition, he took on the position of Coordinator of Astronaut Activities and informally held the title of "chief astronaut". In this role, he held responsibility for the operation of the astronaut office.
The position of Chief of the Astronaut Office was officially created in November 1963, when Alan Shepard was named as the first Chief Astronaut. His responsibilities included monitoring the coordination, scheduling, and control of all activities involving NASA astronauts. This included monitoring the development and implementation of effective training programs to assure the flight readiness of available pilot and non-pilot personnel for assignment to crew positions on manned space flights; furnishing pilot evaluations applicable to the design, construction, and operations of spacecraft systems and related equipment; and providing qualitative scientific and engineering observations to facilitate overall mission planning, formulation of feasible operational procedures, and selection and conduct of specific experiments for each flight.
Since the Shuttle era, the Chief of the Astronaut Office often returns to active duty in the Office once their term is complete. The Chief is currently responsible for managing Astronaut Office resources and operations, and helps develop astronaut flight crew operation concepts and crew assignments for future spaceflight missions.

List of Chief Astronauts

#PortraitNameNASA GroupStartedResignedDeputiesNotes
1Deke Slayton1959 NASA Group 1September 1, 1962November 1963unofficial
2Alan Shepard1959 NASA Group 1November 1963July 1969
3Tom Stafford1962 NASA Group 2July 1969June 1971Stafford held the position while Shepard prepared for and flew Apollo 14.
4Alan Shepard1959 NASA Group 1June 1971August 1, 1974
5John Young1962 NASA Group 2January 14, 1974April 15, 1987Paul J. WeitzActing Chief during STS-1 training was Alan Bean.
6Dan Brandenstein1978 NASA Group 8April 27, 1987October 1992Steven HawleyHawley was Acting Chief while Brandenstein prepared for and flew STS-49, the first flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour.
7Robert Gibson1978 NASA Group 8December 8, 1992September 6, 1994Linda GodwinGibson handed the position over to Cabana to begin training for STS-71, the first Shuttle docking to Mir.
8Robert Cabana1985 NASA Group 11September 6, 1994October 1997Linda GodwinCabana handed the position over to Cockrell to begin training for STS-88, the first International Space Station assembly mission.
9Kenneth Cockrell1990 NASA Group 13October 1997October 1998Cockrell later flew two Shuttle missions.
10Charles Precourt1990 NASA Group 13October 1998November 2002Kent Rominger and Steve Smith
11Kent Rominger1992 NASA Group 14November 2002September 2006Andy Thomas and Peggy Whitson
12Steven W. Lindsey1994 NASA Group 15September 2006October 2009Janet Kavandi and Sunita Williams.Lindsey resigned when he was assigned to command STS-133, which at the time was planned to be the final Space Shuttle mission.
13Peggy Whitson1996 NASA Group 16October 2009July 2012Rick Sturckow ; Michael Barratt, MD, and then subsequently Robert Behnken and Eric BoeWhitson was the first woman and first non-pilot to serve as Chief Astronaut. She resigned when she went back on active flight status.
14Robert Behnken2000 NASA Group 18July 2012July 2015Eric BoeBehnken and Boe both returned to flight status, working on the Commercial Crew vehicle.
15Christopher Cassidy2004 NASA Group 19July 2015June 2, 2017Patrick ForresterCassidy returned to flight status to await a future mission.
16Patrick Forrester1996 NASA Group 16June 2, 2017presentReid Wiseman, then Megan McArthur Behnken