Nasa’s human space flight chief ousted just before big launch

This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Jacqueline Feldscher on politico.com on May 19, 2020.

The head of Nasa’s human space flight office has resigned just one week before the agency is expected to launch astronauts from American soil for the first time in nearly a decade, according to a notification obtained by POLITICO.

Douglas Loverro has served as the associate administrator for the human exploration and operations mission directorate for just seven months. He took over the job in October after his predecessor, William Gerstenmaier, was demoted and eventually left the agency.

Loverro, who previously worked at the super-secret National Reconnaissance Office, which builds and launches military satellites, said he was leaving the agency “with a very, very heavy heart” after making some “mistake” during his tenure, according to a letter to the workforce obtained by POLITICO.

“Throughout my long government career of over four and a half decades I have always found it to be true that we are sometimes, as leaders, called on to take risks,” Loverro wrote. “The risks we take, whether technical, political, or personal, all have potential consequences if we judge them incorrectly. I took such a risk earlier in the year because I judged it necessary to fulfil our mission. Now, over the balance of time, it is clear that I made a mistake in that choice for which I alone must bear the consequences. ”