NASA announced the retirement of the agency's associate administrator, Jim Free, on Wednesday (Feb. 19,) thanking him for his more than 30 years of service to the agency.
Free's last day will be Saturday (Feb. 22), the agency said in a statement. His tenor spans dozens of years, and ultimately saw him oversee all 18,000 NASA employees across the space agency's 10 centers nationwide.
“It has been an honor to serve NASA and walk alongside the workforce that tackles the most difficult engineering challenges, pursues new scientific knowledge in our universe and beyond, develops technologies for future exploration endeavors, all while prioritizing safety every day for people on the ground, in the air, and in space,” Free said in the statement.
Jim Free is a recipient of the Presidential Rank Award, as well as NASA's Distinguished Service Medal, Outstanding Leadership Medal, Exceptional Service Medal and the NASA Significant Achievement Medal.
Free is from Ohio. He earned an aeronautics degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, as well as a master's in space systems engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. His career at NASA began in 1990, at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where he worked on data-relay satellites.
He later transferred to Glenn Research Center, back in his home state, where he supported the development of the Orion spacecraft. In 2008, Free moved briefly to Johnson Space Center in Houston, before returning to Glenn as chief of the Space Flight Systems Directorate in 2009. In 2010, Free was promoted to Glenn's deputy center director, and then served as director of the center from 2013 to 2016.
In March 2016, Free was appointed deputy associate administrator for Technical in the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., a position he held until becoming associate administrator in January 2024.
Recently, Free has served as senior advisor to NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro, President Trump's pick to lead the agency until a new administrator can be confirmed by Congress. (Trump has nominated billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to be permanent NASA chief.)
“Throughout his career, Jim has been the ultimate servant leader — always putting the mission and the people of NASA first,” Petro said. “A remarkable engineer and a decisive leader, he combines deep technical expertise with an unwavering commitment to this agency’s mission. Jim’s legacy is one of selfless service, steadfast leadership, and a belief in the power of people.”
Though he's leaving of his own accord, Free is potentially departing alongside up to 1,000 other NASA employees facing dismissal in the near future. In addition to NASA employees who accepted Trump's deferred resignation offer, NASA was among several federal agencies directed to "identify all employees on probationary periods" by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to prepare for imminent layoffs.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of the NASA family and contribute to the agency’s mission for the benefit of humanity," Free said in the same statement.
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