Posted: Fri, May 9, 2003, 8:09 PM ET (0009 GMT)
NASA announced Friday that it has selected Bill Parsons, director of NASA's Stennis Space Center, to succeed Ron Dittemore as space shuttle program manager. Parsons, who has been Stennis director since last August, will take over management of the shuttle program this summer after a transition period. Parsons previously served as deputy director of the Johnson Space Center and, before that, worked on the shuttle program at the Kennedy Space Center. Dittemore announced last month he planned to step down from the post of shuttle manager once the independent investigation is complete this summer. Dittemore had made plans to step down after the STS-107 mission well before its launch, but decided to stay on after the accident to provide continuity and support the investigation.
