spacetoday.net: NASA replaces two top human spaceflight officials

Posted: Sun, Mar 1, 2026, 11:59 AM ET (1659 GMT)
NASA replaced two top officials involved in human spaceflight a week after a report critical of their handling of the Starliner test flight. NASA said Thursday that Ken Bowersox, NASA associate administrator for space operations, would be replaced by his deputy, Joel Montalbano, effective immediately. Bowersox announced the previous day he would be retiring. NASA also said Thursday that Dana Hutcherson, deputy manager for the commercial crew program, will take over as manager effective immediately. She replaces Steve Stich, who had managed the program for the last several years. The moves came after NASA released an independent report in the 2024 Starliner crewed test flight that identified problems with how NASA managed the issue. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said when the report was released that "there will be leadership accountability" but didn't elaborate.