Bolden, Charles Frank, Jr. (1946-…), became the first African American director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on a permanent basis. President Barack Obama appointed Bolden to that post in 2009. Bolden’s previous experience included service as a Marine Corps pilot and as commander of two space shuttle missions.
Bolden was born Aug. 19, 1946, in Columbia, South Carolina. He graduated high school there before entering the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1964. He graduated with a degree in electrical science in 1968 and continued his service in the U.S. Marine Corps as a jet pilot.
Bolden served in the Vietnam War from June 1972 to June 1973. In that time, he flew more than 100 missions into Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Bolden remained in active duty with the Marines until 1979. In 1977, he also completed his master’s degree in systems management from the University of Southern California. In June 1979, Bolden graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.
Bolden worked for NASA from 1980 to 1994. During this time, he flew on four shuttle flights, two of them as commander. He was appointed assistant deputy administrator of NASA headquarters—NASA’s second in command—in 1992. He returned to active duty in the Marine Corps after his last shuttle flight in 1994. His return included an assignment as deputy commandant of midshipmen at the Naval Academy. The students at the Naval Academy are called midshipmen. In 2003, Bolden retired from the Marine Corps. He then proceeded to work in the private aerospace industry until his appointment to NASA in 2009.
