Posted: Sun, Jan 22, 2006, 8:48 AM ET (1348 GMT)
Scott Hubbard, director of NASA's Ames Research Center in California, announced last week that he planned to step down in the near future. Hubbard, director of NASA Ames since 2002, did not specify when he would resign, or for what reasons, although reports suggest that Hubbard was eased out by NASA Headquarters, who wanted to put a new person into that position. Employees at the center are concerned the move could be the first step towards more cuts at the center, located in Silicon Valley. Hubbard, who managed NASA's Mars exploration program prior to taking the job at Ames, also served on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board as NASA's only representative.

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