William Parsons will replace Ron Ditmore
Parsons, who currently directs the John C. Stennis in Mississippi, said he shuddered to take charge of the ferry program, with the ferry fleet grounded while the investigation into the Columbia disaster continues.
"This is certainly not the easiest time to come and manage the shuttle project, but I take on the challenge," Parsons told reporters at NASA headquarters in Washington.
Parsons will replace Ron Ditmore, who announced his resignation on April 23 but said he plans to stay on to facilitate the transition to his successor.
Parsons attended a session of Congress where his members demanded that the shuttles be turned into unmanned vehicles while the astronauts would fly in next-generation vehicles that would be safer for manned flights.
"I come to the craft thinking that we will continue to fly and this is my mission, to find all the necessary ways to repair, actually repair and return to flying," said Parsons.
Parsons, 46, is an aeronautical engineer and former Marine officer. He managed the shuttle cargo area at Cape Canaveral and became a launch manager at the Kennedy Space Center in 1990. In 1996 he became the manager of the space station assembly process at the Kennedy Space Center.
