# Chief of the Astronaut Office

The Chief of the Astronaut Office is the most senior leadership position for active astronauts at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Chief Astronaut serves as head of the NASA Astronaut Corps and is the principal advisor to the NASA Administrator on astronaut training and operations. The Chief's responsibilities include managing Astronaut Office resources and operations and helping to develop operating concepts and assignments for astronaut flight crew.

## History

When Deke Slayton was grounded from the Mercury Seven due to a heart condition, he took on the position of Coordinator of Astronaut Activities and informally held the title of "chief astronaut". In this role, he held responsibility for the operation of the astronaut office.
The position of Chief of the Astronaut Office was officially created in July 1964, when Alan Shepard was named as the first Chief Astronaut. His responsibilities included monitoring the coordination, scheduling, and control of all activities involving NASA astronauts. This included monitoring the development and implementation of training programs to assure the flight readiness of pilot and non-pilot personnel for space flights; furnishing pilot evaluations applicable to the design, construction, and operations of spacecraft systems and related equipment; and providing scientific and engineering observations to facilitate mission planning, formulation of operational procedures, and selection and conduct of experiments for each flight.
The Chief of the Astronaut Office often returns to active duty once their term is complete.

## List of Chief Astronauts

| # | Name | Group | Started | Resigned | Deputies | Notes |
| 1 | Deke Slayton (1924–1993) | 1 (1959) | September 18, 1962 | July 8, 1964 | | Held position of Coordinator of Astronaut Activities and was referred to unofficially as "Chief Astronaut" |
| 2 | Alan Shepard (1923–1998) | 1 (1959) | July 8, 1964 | August 7, 1969 | | First person to formally have title of Chief of the Astronaut Office |
| 3 | Tom Stafford (1930–2024) | 2 (1962) | August 7, 1969 | June 25, 1971 | | Stafford held the position while Shepard prepared for and flew Apollo 14. |
| 4 | Alan Shepard (1923–1998) | 1 (1959) | June 25, 1971 | January 14, 1974 | | |
| 5 | John Young (1930–2018) | 2 (1962) | January 14, 1974 | April 15, 1987 | Paul J. Weitz | Acting Chief during STS-1 training was Alan Bean. |
| 6 | Dan Brandenstein (1943–) | 8 (1978) | April 27, 1987 | October 1992 | Steven Hawley | Hawley was Acting Chief while Brandenstein prepared for and flew STS-49, the first flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour. |
| 7 | Robert Gibson (1946–) | 8 (1978) | December 8, 1992 | September 6, 1994 | Linda Godwin | Gibson handed the position over to Cabana to begin training for STS-71, the first Shuttle docking to Mir. |
| 8 | Robert Cabana (1949–) | 11 (1985) | September 6, 1994 | October 1997 | Linda Godwin | Cabana handed the position over to Cockrell to begin training for STS-88, the first International Space Station assembly mission. |
| 9 | Kenneth Cockrell (1950–) | 13 (1990) | October 1997 | October 1998 | | Cockrell later flew two Shuttle missions. |
| 10 | Charles Precourt (1955–) | 13 (1990) | October 1998 | November 2002 | Kent Rominger and Steve Smith | |
| 11 | Kent Rominger (1956–) | 14 (1992) | November 2002 | September 2006 | Andy Thomas and Peggy Whitson | |
| 12 | Steven W. Lindsey (1960–) | 15 (1994) | September 2006 | October 2009 | Janet Kavandi and Sunita Williams (February 2008 to October 2009). | Lindsey resigned when he was assigned to command STS-133, which at the time was planned to be the final Space Shuttle mission. |
| 13 | Peggy Whitson (1960–) | 16 (1996) | October 2009 | July 2012 | Rick Sturckow (October 2009 to August 2011); Michael Barratt, MD, and then subsequently Robert Behnken and Eric Boe | Whitson was the first woman and first non-pilot to serve as Chief Astronaut. She resigned when she went back on active flight status. |
| 14 | Robert Behnken (1970–) | 18 (2000) | July 2012 | July 2015 | Eric Boe | Behnken and Boe both returned to flight status, working on the Commercial Crew Program Behnken later flew on SpaceX Crew Demo 2. |
| 15 | Christopher Cassidy (1970–) | 19 (2004) | July 2015 | June 2, 2017 | Patrick Forrester | Cassidy returned to flight status, and was assigned to Expedition 62/63. |
| 16 | Patrick Forrester (1957–) | 16 (1996) | June 2, 2017 | December 20, 2020 | Gregory R. Wiseman, Megan McArthur, Scott Tingle | Forrester took a leave of absence to pursue a personal opportunity outside of NASA. |
| 17 | Gregory R. Wiseman (1975–) | 20 (2009) | December 20, 2020 | February 2, 2023 | Andrew Feustel | Stepped down in November 2022 to return to flight rotation. Feustel acted as acting chief between November 2022 and February 2023. |
| 18 | Joseph M. Acaba (1967–) | 19 (2004) | February 2, 2023 | present | Andrew Feustel and Shannon Walker | |