Feb 2 1996
From The Space Library
Space News for this day. (1MB PDF)
Space Shuttle Program Director Bryan D. O'Connor announced his resignation from NASA, effective at the end of February 1996. O'Connor stated that the transition in Shuttle management had presented him with an opportunity to leave NASA without causing undue disruption. In the months before his resignation, O'Connor had voiced some concerns about NASA's planned transfer of responsibility for Shuttle flight operations to United Space Alliance, a private contractor formed by Lockheed Martin and Rockwell International. In announcing his departure, O'Connor praised NASA workers and astronauts for their exemplary service. After the 1986 Challenger accident, O'Connor had played an important role in restoring the Shuttle program and restructuring NASA. O'Connor, a former U.S. Marine Corps pilot and astronaut, had directed a major overhaul of the space station program, taking over as Director of the Space Shuttle Program in 1994.
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