Charlie Bolden’s Farewell To NASA Employees

Last week NASA Administrator Bolden and his deputy, Dava Newman, held a farewell town hall meeting for NASA employees. While the event was not publicly televised I had a chance to watch it shortly after it aired live. Here are @NASAWatch tweets of the highlights of the event.

– NASA Landing Team has asked #NASA CFO David Radzanowski to stay on to “help get them over the hump” According to Charlie Bolden
-Bolden “Dava and I are going to leave Dave [Radzanowski] here to take care of Robert [Lightfoot]” #NASA
– NASA internal Town Hall: Lightfoot: “We need to show that we can transition our agency and not miss a beat”
– Bolden gave @DavaExplorer the #NASA Distinguished Service Medal today
– Town Hall: Bolden talking about @DavaExplorer coming to the A Suite said “we did OK before – but she brought some pizazz” 1/2
– But Bolden made no mention of @LoriGarver and how she kept him out of trouble for 6 years 2/2
– Town Hall: Bolden: “My first two years were horrible. I thought I just sucked as the #NASA Administrator”
– Town Hall: Bolden: “To put it bluntly I wasn’t comfortable.”
– Town Hall: Bolden: “I still come to work each day scared about what is going to happen that day”
– Town Hall: Bolden: “We brought Mike French and David Weaver over. Mike French encouraged me to do my job.”
– Town Hall: Bolden: “French – You’re the NASA Administrator & do not have to sit back & just say yes. You can tell ppl what you want to do”

– Bolden presented the #NASA Distinguished Service Medal to Mike French today
– When asked at Town Hall if the new Administration will continue with SLS and used it to send humans to Mars Bolden said “yes”.
– Bolden “When I came here in 2009 Constellation was a great idea – but it was an idea”
– Bolden “our entrepreneurial partners are really excited about what they are doing”
– Bolden “we have met those goals that we have established”
– Bolden tells NASA employees to “become thebest story teller that there is” in explaining to others what they do at #NASA
– Bolden: “if you take care of your people they will take care of you” #NASA
– Bolden: “Don’t forget about the other people who make it possible for you to do what you do.”
– Lightfoot noted that a kid sent him a Xmas card – sat next to him on a plane while Lightfoot showed him a #NASA powerpoint presentation