KSC-05pd-1041

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin observes as technicians prepare Space Shuttle Atlantis for the second Return to Flight mission, STS-121. This is Griffin's first official visit to Kennedy Space Center. Griffin is the 11th administrator of NASA, a role he assumed on April 14, 2005. Griffin was nominated to the position in March while serving as the Space Department head at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory in Baltimore. A registered professional engineer in Maryland and California, Griffin served as chief engineer at NASA earlier in his career. He holds numerous scientific and technical degrees including a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland.