Mark Hess
Headquarters, Washington D.C.                                                
June 24, 1993
(Phone :  202/358-1778)                                                        
1:00 pm EDT


RELEASE:  93-120

TWO ASTRONAUTS APPOINTED TO HEADQUARTERS POSITIONS

     NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin today announced the 
appointment of two astronauts to senior management positions at 
NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

     Appointed are William M. Shepherd and James D. Wetherbee as 
Assistant Deputy Administrators - Technical.  They will assist 
the Administrator and the Acting Deputy Administrator in 
providing technical oversight of NASA's programs.

     In addition to serving in this capacity, they have been 
designated as acting leaders of the transition activities for the 
Redesign Space Station program under the direction of Bryan 
O'Connor, the Director, Space Station Redesign.

     Shepherd, a 1971 Naval Academy graduate, received the 
degrees of ocean engineer and master of science in mechanical 
engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 
1978.  He is a veteran of 3 Space Shuttle missions, STS-27 in 
December 1988, STS-41 in October 1990 and STS-52 in November 
1992.

     Wetherbee is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and 
a 1974 graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.  He served 
as the project officer and test pilot for the weapons delivery 
systems and avionics integration for the F/A-18 aircraft.  He is 
a veteran of 2 Space Shuttle missions, serving as a pilot on 
STS-32 in January 1990 and as commander of STS-52 in November 
1992.

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