Submitted by Arthur - N1ORC

NASA announced the selection of William (Bill) W. Parsons as the new manager for the Space Shuttle Program. Parsons, the director of the NASA John C. Stennis Space Center, Miss., succeeds Ronald D. Dittemore, who announced his resignation April 23.

"Bill is a talented leader, motivator, and he's deeply devoted to the success of the Space Shuttle Program," said William F. Readdy, associate administrator of Space Flight at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "His management, technical experience and dedication to safety are vital as we move forward and prepare to start flying again."

Parsons has served as Stennis director since August 2002. He was first assigned to Stennis in 1997 as the chief of operations of the Propulsion Test Directorate. Parsons relocated to NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston to become the director of the Center Operations Directorate, and he later served as the deputy director of JSC. He returned to Stennis in 2001, and he served as director of the Center Operations and Support Directorate.

Meanwhile, the Space Shuttle Columbia accident investigation and recovery efforts continue. On the investigation front, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, or CAIB, released a working scenario earlier in the week. The preliminary conclusions are based upon three months of intense investigation, which included reviews of many data sources.

The CAIB is continuing testing and analyses to refine the working scenario. The board, which has not determined the accident's cause, is expected to issue a final report this summer.

Meanwhile, the management of debris recovery operations is now based out of the Columbia Recovery Office, or CRO, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, handed off control of the recovery operations to NASA on April 30.