September 30, 2008

MARTINEZ STATEMENT ON APPOINTMENT OF NEW DIRECTOR TO KENNEDY SPACE CENTER

U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) today made the following statement regarding the announcement that William Parsons, director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is leaving the agency in mid-October. Parsons will be succeeded by former astronaut Robert Cabana, currently director of NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

“Director Parsons has done a fine job leading the Kennedy Space Center,” Martinez said. “He will be missed and I wish him well in his future endeavors. I would like to welcome Robert Cabana to Florida’s Space Coast. With his vast experience, I am confident Cabana will do an outstanding job as the new director.”

William Parsons, who joined NASA in 1990, also has served as director of Stennis. His other NASA assignments have included launch site support manager, manager of the Space Station Hardware Integration Office, chief of operations of the Propulsion Test Directorate, Space Shuttle Program manager and deputy director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Before being named the director at Stennis in October 2007, Robert Cabana served as deputy director of Johnson. In addition, Cabana has worked as chief of NASA's Astronaut Office; manager of international operations of International Space Station Program; director of NASA's Human Space Flight Program in Russia; deputy director of the International Space Station Program; and director of Flight Crew Operations. He has flown four space shuttle missions, serving as the pilot of Discovery missions STS-41 in October 1990 and STS-53 in December 1992, commander of Columbia on STS-65 in July 1994, and commander of Endeavour on STS-88 - the first International Space Station assembly mission - in December 1998.

###