Associate Administrator Chris Scolese was named director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and Robert Lightfoot, director of the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Both will serve as acting associate administrator and will assume their new responsibilities on March 5.

Scolese, who has been with NASA since 1987, succeeds Robert Strain, who announced his decision to return to private industry in January. Lightfoot joined NASA in 1989 as a test engineer and program manager at Marshall. Lightfoot's deputy, Gene Goldman, will serve as Marshall's acting center director.

As associate administrator, Lightfoot will be the agency's highest-ranking civil servant, responsible for oversight and integration of NASA's broad efforts in human space flight, science and aeronautics. At Goddard, Scolese will lead a major U.S. laboratory for developing and operating unmanned scientific spacecraft. Goddard manages many of NASA's Earth observation, astronomy and space physics missions. It was established in 1959 as NASA's first space flight facility. Both men are highly honored NASA leaders, earning the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive and agency medals for outstanding leadership.