Pete Worden Simon P . ( " Pete " ) Worden , Ph . D . ( Brig . Gen . , USAF , Ret . ) ( born 1949 , in Michigan ) is Director of NASA ' s Ames Research Center ( ARC ) at Moffett Field , Calif . Before joining NASA , he held several positions in the United States Air Force and was research professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona , Tucson . He is a recognized expert on space issues – both civil and military . Dr . Worden has authored or co - authored more than 150 scientific papers in astrophysics , space sciences , and strategic studies . He served as a scientific co - investigator for two NASA space science missions , and received the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal for the 1994 Clementine mission . He has been named the 2009 Federal Laboratory Consortium Laboratory Director of the Year . Background . Prior to becoming Director of NASA Ames , Dr . Worden was a Research Professor of Astronomy , Optical Sciences and Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona where his primary research direction was the development of large space optics for national security and scientific purposes and near - earth asteroids . Additionally he worked on topics related to space exploration and solar - type activity in nearby stars . In addition to his position with the University of Arizona , Dr . Worden served as a consultant to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA ) on space - related issues . During the 2004 Congressional Session he worked as a Congressional Fellow with the Office of Senator Sam Brownback ( R - KS ) , where he served as Senator Brownback ’ s chief advisor on NASA and space issues . Dr . Worden retired from the United States Air Force in 2004 after 29 years of active service . His final position there was Director of Development and Transformation , Space and Missile Systems Center , Air Force Space Command , Los Angeles Air Force Base , CA . In this position he was responsible for developing new directions for Air Force Space Command programs and was instrumental in initiating a major Responsive Space Program designed to produce space systems and launchers capable of tailored military effects on timescales of hours . Dr . Worden was commissioned in 1971 after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan . He entered the Air Force in 1975 after graduating from the University of Arizona with a doctorate in astronomy . Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s , Dr . Worden served in every phase of development , international negotiations and implementation of the Strategic Defense Initiative . He twice served in the Executive Office of the President . As the staff officer for initiatives in the George Bush administration ' s National Space Council , Dr . Worden spearheaded efforts to revitalize U . S . civil space exploration and earth monitoring programs . Dr . Worden commanded the 50th Space Wing that is responsible for more than 60 Department of Defense satellites and more than 6 , 000 people at 23 worldwide locations . He then served as Deputy Director for Requirements at Headquarters Air Force Space Command , as well as the Deputy Director for Command and Control with the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations at Air Force headquarters . Prior to assuming his current position , Dr . Worden was responsible for policy and direction of five mission areas : force enhancement , space support , space control , force application and computer network defense . Innovations . Dr . Worden was a key early innovator and proponent in the area of small satellites . While at BMDO and its predecessor SDIO he played major roles in development of the DC - X and the Clementine mission . Clementine was a relatively small , low - cost , and rapidly - developed satellite ostensibly developed to test sensor and propulsion technology for missile interceptors . Clementine mapped the Moon and travelled on towards the near - Earth asteroid 1620 Geographos ( though it did not achieve that final goal ) . Worden also instituted and championed innovative management and engineering techniques while at BMDO , including rapid prototyping , " build a little test a little " , a " badgeless " work environment , and a flat organizational structure . More recently , since becoming NASA Ames Research Center director , he has actively developed Ames ' capability for rapid prototyping of small spacecraft . He has also " engineered " innovative agreements between NASA Ames and a variety of private sector and public sector partners . Recognizing the critical importance of revitalizing NASA ( and the whole U . S . aerospace sector ) , he has consistently and actively recruited and empowered younger workers , as well as workers from other agencies and other countries . International Space University . Dr . Worden is actively involved in the International Space University ( ISU ) , where he is a welcome guest teacher at the ISU Space Studies Program ( formerly Summer Session Program ) . His continued support led to the selection of NASA Ames as the host for the 2009 ISU SSP program in the months July and August 2009 . Support for NEO missions . Pete Worden has long been a proponent of robotic and , more recently , crewed space missions to near - earth object s . This class of mission is thought by a growing number of space enthusiasts and professionals to have scientific , technological , political and sociological merit as an alternate to the lunar component of the vision for space exploration . NASA criticism . While at the Air Force , Worden was one of NASA ' s most well - known and credible critics . In one ( in ) famous essay he compared NASA to a " self - licking ice cream cone " . Later , after having worked for U . S . Sen Sam Brownback ( R - Kan ) , Worden said his Capitol Hill experience demonstrated to him that NASA actually stood for " Never A Straight Answer . " After accepting his NASA job , he has stated on several occasions : " I learned you have to be careful what you say about an organization , because you could end up working for them . " Dr . Worden also has a reputation as being something of a " character . " For instance , he supported and presided over " Yuri ' s Night Bay Area " , held at NASA Ames Research Center in 2007 . He is also known occasionally to costume , usually dressing as either Darth Vader , a wizard , or after arriving at Ames , as a goat herder . In April 2007 , Pete Worden became the first NASA Center Director to address an audience at a space conference ( ISDC07 ) through the virtual world of Second Life . His propensity for costume sparked an inquiry from Senator Chuck Grassley that led to an investigation by the NASA inspector general ' s office into a private project to photograph a group of Viking re - enactors calling themselves " The Vikings of Bjornstad . " Although concluding that no government money had been spent on the Viking re - enactment , the investigation itself was estimated to have cost between $ 40 , 000 and $ 600 , 000 .