Posted: Wed, Apr 23, 2003, 10:54 PM ET (0254 GMT)
Space shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore confirmed several days of rumors on Wednesday when he said he plans to leave the agency after the completion of the Columbia accident investigation. Dittemore said he had been planning to leave NASA for the private sector since last autumn, and had planned for STS-107 to be his final mission. After the accident he decided to remain at NASA and assist in the investigation. Dittemore, a NASA employee since 1977 and shuttle program manager since 1999, will remain at NASA until the Columbia Accident Investigation Board issues its final report this summer. Dittemore did not reveal what he would be doing after leaving NASA, and NASA has not a successor for Dittemore.

Related Links:

•  NASA press release
•  Spaceflight Now article
•  SPACE.com article
•  AP article