Biden to nominate former space shuttle commander for Nasa's number 2 spot

US President Joe Biden is set to nominate eight leaders to key administration posts, including former space shuttle commander Pamela Melroy for the post of Deputy Administrator in NASA, the White House statement said on Friday.

Melroy, a retired US Air Force test pilot, is an aerospace executive with government and industry experience across civil, commercial, and national security space.

"It's a great honour to be nominated by @POTUS to support @SenBillNelson and help lead NASA. The agency is critical in America's fight to combat climate change and maintain leadership in space," Melroy tweeted.

Melroy is a veteran of Operation Just Cause and Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, with over 200 combat and combat support hours."

"She has logged more than 6,000 hours flight time in more than 50 different aircraft. Melroy flew three missions in space: as Space Shuttle pilot during STS-92 in 2000 and STS-112 in 2002, and as Space Shuttle Commander during STS-120 in 2007. One of only two women to command the Space Shuttle, she has logged more than 38 days in space," the White House Statement said.

After NASA, Melroy served as Deputy Program Manager for the Lockheed Martin Orion Space Exploration Initiatives program.

She then returned to government, overseeing commercial space licensing activities at the Office of Commercial Space Transportation at the FAA as Director of Field Operations and acting Deputy Associate Administrator, the statement said.

She subsequently served as Deputy Director, Tactical Technology Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) where she directed a large advanced technology development portfolio.