{"id":37997,"date":"2021-05-17T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-17T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?migration=converted-node-341132"},"modified":"2024-03-07T10:37:12","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T15:37:12","slug":"former-nasa-associate-administrator-robert-d-cabana","status":"publish","type":"people","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/people\/former-nasa-associate-administrator-robert-d-cabana\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert D. Cabana"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-bio-intro maxw-full width-full padding-y-6 padding-x-3 hds-module hds-module-full wp-block-nasa-blocks-bio-intro\">\n\t<div class=\"hds-bio-intro-container grid-row grid-container grid-container-block padding-0\">\n\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-4 desktop:grid-col-3\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-bio-thumbnail width-10 tablet:width-card desktop:width-card-lg\">\n\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/nhq202106280001-cabana.jpg?w=640\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large\" alt=\"NASA Associate Administrator Robert Cabana.\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 49% 5%; object-position: 49% 5%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/nhq202106280001-cabana.jpg 4916w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/nhq202106280001-cabana.jpg?resize=240,300 240w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/nhq202106280001-cabana.jpg?resize=768,960 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/nhq202106280001-cabana.jpg?resize=819,1024 819w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/nhq202106280001-cabana.jpg?resize=1229,1536 1229w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/nhq202106280001-cabana.jpg?resize=1638,2048 1638w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/nhq202106280001-cabana.jpg?resize=320,400 320w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/nhq202106280001-cabana.jpg?resize=480,600 480w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/nhq202106280001-cabana.jpg?resize=720,900 720w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/nhq202106280001-cabana.jpg?resize=960,1200 960w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/nhq202106280001-cabana.jpg?resize=1600,2000 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-7 desktop:grid-col-9 grid-row margin-0 padding-0\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-8 margin-bottom-2 desktop:margin-bottom-0\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-1 desktop:margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"display-60 display-block width-full\">Robert D. Cabana<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"p-lg padding-0 margin-0 color-carbon-60\">Former NASA Associate Administrator<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"heading-18\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tFollow Robert D. Cabana\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"social-icons social-icons-monochrome\"><li class=\"social-icon social-icon-twitter social-icon-x\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Astro_CabanaBob\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Follow Robert D. Cabana on X.\" rel=\"noopener\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"1200\" height=\"1227\" viewBox=\"0 0 1200 1227\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M714.163 519.284L1160.89 0H1055.03L667.137 450.887L357.328 0H0L468.492 681.821L0 1226.37H105.866L515.491 750.218L842.672 1226.37H1200L714.137 519.284H714.163ZM569.165 687.828L521.697 619.934L144.011 79.6944H306.615L611.412 515.685L658.88 583.579L1055.08 1150.3H892.476L569.165 687.854V687.828Z\" fill=\"white\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Editor’s Note:<\/strong> Robert Cabana retired from NASA effective Dec. 31, 2023. This biography will be kept online as a historical record but will no longer be updated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Robert D. Cabana is a former NASA astronaut, currently serving as the agency\u2019s associate administrator, its third highest-ranking executive and highest-ranking civil servant. He is the senior advisor to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. In his role, Cabana leads the agency’s 10 center directors as well as the mission directorate associate administrators at headquarters. He acts as the agency’s chief operating officer for more than 18,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $25 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before taking that position, Cabana was director of NASA\u2019s John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In that role, Cabana managed all NASA facilities and activities at the spaceport, including the team of civil service and contractor employees who operate and support numerous space programs and projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Cabana graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1971 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in mathematics. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps and completed Naval Flight Officer training in Pensacola, Florida, in 1972. Cabana then served as an A-6 bombardier\/navigator with Marine Air Wings in Cherry Point, North Carolina, and Iwakuni, Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Returning to Pensacola in 1975, Cabana began pilot training and was designated a naval aviator in September 1976, earning the Daughters of the American Revolution award as the top Marine to complete flight training that year. He graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1981 and served in the Flight Systems Branch at the Naval Air Test Center until 1984. During his career, Cabana has logged over 7,000 hours in more than 50 different kinds of aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cabana was selected as an astronaut candidate in June 1985 and completed his initial astronaut training in July 1986. He was assigned to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Astronaut Office, serving in a number of leadership positions, including lead astronaut in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory; Mission Control Spacecraft Communicator, famously known as CAPCOM; and chief of NASA\u2019s Astronaut Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A veteran of four spaceflights, Cabana has logged 38 days in space, serving as the pilot on STS-41 and STS-53 and mission commander on STS-65 and STS-88. His fourth flight was the first assembly mission of the International Space Station in December 1998. Following his retirement as a colonel from the Marine Corps in September 2000, Cabana was appointed a member of the Federal Senior Executive Service. He served in numerous challenging senior management positions at Johnson Space Center in Houston, ultimately becoming deputy director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In October 2007, Cabana was appointed director of NASA\u2019s John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. A year later he was reassigned as the tenth director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cabana\u2019s many achievements have been recognized with induction into the Astronaut Hall of Fame and being named an Associate Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a Fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. He has received numerous personal awards and decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award, and the National Space Club Florida Committee\u2019s Dr. Kurt H. Debus Award. He also is a recipient of the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement\u2019s National Space Trophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>May 2021<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Editor’s Note: Robert Cabana retired from NASA effective Dec. 31, 2023. This biography will be kept online as a historical record but will no longer be updated. Robert D. Cabana is a former NASA astronaut, currently serving as the agency\u2019s associate administrator, its third highest-ranking executive and highest-ranking civil servant. He is the senior advisor [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":219,"featured_media":36731,"template":"","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_people_facebook_url":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_people_twitter_url":"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Astro_CabanaBob","nasa_hds_core_meta_people_instagram_url":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_people_linkedin_url":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_people_title":"Former NASA Associate Administrator"},"categories":[2867,3215,2862,2883,2671],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[],"coauthors":[10473],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"WebPage","headline":"Robert D. 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