Richard H Truly

American Vice Admiral; the eighth administrator of NASA, a position he held from 7/01/1989 to 2/12/1992. Truly was the first astronaut to head the space agency. After earning his degree in aeronautical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Truly started his career as an ensign in the Navy in 1959. From 1963-65, he studied, and later worked as an instructor, at the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. He was one of the initial group of astronauts selected for the USAF manned orbiting laboratory program in 1965, and in 1969, he was selected by NASA for their program. During his first space flight, from 11/12-14/1981, he piloted the space shuttle Columbia. He later commanded the Challenger on its flight of 8/30/1983. As Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Flight, Truly led the rebuilding of the Space Shuttle Program after the Challenger disaster. Throughout his illustrious career, he has been honored with a number of awards, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross, the Meritorious Service Award and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. He retired from the Navy on 6/30/1989. After leaving NASA, Truly returned to his alma mater where he used his outstanding managerial abilities as Director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute until 1997. Truly is married with three children. Link to Wikipedia biography