{"id":2404579,"date":"2025-02-20T09:14:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T14:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/four-senior-officials-close-to-nasa-moon-program-retire\/"},"modified":"2025-02-20T09:15:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T14:15:15","slug":"four-senior-officials-close-to-nasa-moon-program-retire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/four-senior-officials-close-to-nasa-moon-program-retire\/","title":{"rendered":"Four senior officials close to NASA moon program retire &#8211;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffour-senior-officials-close-to-nasa-moon-program-retire%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2404579&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Four senior officials from NASA&#8217;s Artemis moon programme are set to \u200bretire this \u200bweek,\u200d including Jim Free, an associate administrator with 30 years of service. Free played \u200ba crucial role \u200din the accomplished launch of\u200c Artemis \u200dI, which tested the Orion spacecraft and \u2063the space Launch System rocket, flying\u200d 1.4 million miles beyond the moon. His retirement marks a critically important moment,\u200d as he contributed \u2063to advancing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-does-this-image-show-astronauts-with-their-helmets-off-on-the-moon\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: Does This Image Show Astronauts With Their Helmets Off On The ...?\">lunar landing<\/a> initiatives through the agency&#8217;s Commercial Lunar Payload Services. The other three officials also worked at NASA\u2019s Marshall\u2064 Space Flight Center. Their \u200bdepartures come as\u200c NASA faces delays in returning astronauts to the moon,with \u200cplans for the Artemis\u200b II mission now\u2062 pushed to\u2064 2026 and Artemis III to\u200d 2027. In addition to\u200b the changes within\u2063 NASA, notable figures like billionaire astronaut Jared Isaacman\u2063 and tech magnates \u200cJeff\u2062 Bezos and Elon Musk \u2063are \u200dexpanding their\u2063 roles and ventures within the space industry.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Four senior officials close to NASA moon program retire<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1998602\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Four <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nasa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">NASA<\/a> senior officials working on the agency&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/moon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">moon<\/a> program, Artemis, will retire this week.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>These officials were part of the team that succeeded in launching Artemis&nbsp;I as &ldquo;the first flight test of the integrated Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/humans-in-space\/artemis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">according to NASA&rsquo;s website<\/a>. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">unmanned rocket flew 40<\/a>,000 miles beyond the moon and back, for a total of 1.4 million miles, &ldquo;demonstrating our capability to send humans to lunar orbit on the second flight test.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Saturday will be the last day for Jim Free, an associate administrator who will retire after 30 years with the agency. During his tenure as the associate administrator, Free achieved the first lunar landing via the agency&rsquo;s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It has been an honor to serve NASA and walk alongside the workforce that tackles the most difficult engineering challenges, pursues new scientific knowledge in our universe and beyond, develops technologies for future exploration endeavors, all while prioritizing safety every day for people on the ground, in the air, and in space,&rdquo; Free said in a statement. &ldquo;I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of the NASA family and contribute to the agency&rsquo;s mission for the benefit of humanity.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Free is joined by three other officials who are retiring after working at NASA&rsquo;s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the headquarters for the Artemis mission. These retirements were announced internally, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/key-nasa-officials-departure-casts-more-uncertainty-over-us-moon-program-2025-02-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">according<\/a> to a source cited by <em>Reuters<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The&nbsp;United States&nbsp;remains the first and only country to land a man on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russia-and-china-partner-up-to-build-research-station-on-moon\/\" title=\"Russia And China Partner Up To Build Research Station On ...\">lunar surface<\/a>. While NASA had plans to return astronauts to the moon in 2024 with the&nbsp;Artemis&nbsp;II mission, and a moon landing was set for 2025 with the&nbsp;Artemis&nbsp;III mission, these have been postponed to 2026 and 2027, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump nominated billionaire astronaut&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/space\/3154922\/tech-billionaire-returns-earth-after-first-private-spacewalk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jared Isaacman<\/a>&nbsp;to lead&nbsp;NASA. Isaacman led two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-nasa-picks-donations-raise-eyebrows-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Trump NASA pick&#039;s donations raise eyebrows - Washington Examiner\">private space flights<\/a> and is credited with organizing the first private spacewalk.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/space\/3288953\/blue-origin-new-glenn-rocket-successful-launch-orbit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"BLUE ORIGIN&rsquo;S NEW GLENN ROCKET IN ORBIT AFTER SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH\">BLUE ORIGIN&rsquo;S NEW GLENN ROCKET IN ORBIT AFTER SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Other billionaires have entered the space industry. Jeff Bezos started Blue Origin 25 years ago and has seen success with its New Shepard passenger rockets, which take paying customers into space from Texas. Elon Musk, now a senior adviser to Trump, has his SpaceX company, which has the goal of achieving missions to Mars.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX has some $15 billion in contracts with NASA. Among them is a deal to land humans on the moon in its Starship rocket.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1998602\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1998602\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Four senior officials from NASA&#8217;s Artemis moon program retire<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2631,"featured_media":2404580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/nasa.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[50729,11488,7620],"class_list":["post-2404579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-moon-program","tag-nasa","tag-retirement"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/nasa.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2404579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2631"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2404579"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2404579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2404583,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2404579\/revisions\/2404583"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2404580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2404579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2404579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2404579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}