WASHINGTON -
NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden displayed the softer side of his management
style while promising strong leadership at a critical time for the space agency
during a Tuesday address to agency employees broadcast from NASA headquarters
here.

During the
hour-long talk, which included remarks by NASA Deputy Administrator Lori
Garver, Bolden said the agency faces numerous challenges in a time of economic
uncertainty, including a call from the White House to find an affordable way back
to the Moon by 2020 before potentially moving on to Mars.

"The
challenge is to figure out the most efficient and cost-effective path to get
there," Bolden said the day after NASA commemorated the 40th anniversary of the
first
lunar landing on Monday, 1969. Bolden, who was sworn into office July 17
alongside Garver at NASA headquarters, said that while the administration of
U.S. President Barack Obama is committed to human space exploration, the agency
"cannot continue to survive on the path we are on."

Bolden
talked about accompanying Apollo 11
astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins to the White
House the day before to  meet Obama, who spoke before the cameras about the lasting
legacy of the Moon landing, the "extraordinary work" the agency does today, 
and his confidence in Bolden and Garver to "continue the inspirational mission
of NASA."

"We are an
incredible organization," Bolden told agency employees. "Raise your head and
say you're proud to work for NASA."

Bolden
talked openly about his upbringing and beliefs, labeling himself  an
"environmentalist," a "social liberal and a fiscal conservative" who will
promote an open-door policy with NASA employees. He also characterized his
approach to the media as "friendly," but urged employees to bring bad news to
senior staff rather than sharing it with the press.

Bolden, who
said during his July 8 confirmation hearing that safety would be a top priority
as NASA administrator, told employees that work-related casualties are an all
but inevitable part of the space business. 

"We're in a
very, very risky business," Bolden said. "People don't like to hear that, but
they're going to hear it from me."

Bolden
described himself as a man of faith with a healthy respect for all religions, a
warm and light-hearted Episcopalian and an unabashed "hugger" who is not shy
about expressing emotion. "That's the
other thing you'll get used to. I cry."

The child
of two educators, Bolden spoke of the importance of teaching and the difference
a caring adult can make in the life of a child. He encouraged NASA employees to
work with kids through volunteer and community service opportunities.

Bolden said
he and Garver are  meeting with senior White House officials this week in an
effort to address the space agency's challenges, including a forthcoming
decision on the path ahead for NASA's manned spaceflight program.

During his
talk, Bolden said he would be relying on Garver for her organizational skills and
policy expertise.

"Some of
you will be flustered because I'm not very detailed," Bolden said. "Lori, thank
God, is somewhat more detailed and so you will find that she's organized. I'm
not. We make a great team. She knows a lot of policy, I know none. She knows
Washington, I know a little."

Bolden also
introduced former National Space Society executive director and Virgin Galactic
adviser George Whitesides as his chief of staff.

Garver, who
is returning to the agency after an eight-year hiatus in the private sector,
said she hopes to better communicate NASA's relevance to policymakers as well
as the American public in an effort to restore the agency's
faded luster since the last U.S. lunar landing more than a generation ago.

Garver, who
previously served as a NASA associate administrator for policy and plans, said
she was encouraged by the media attention the 40th anniversary commemoration
had garnered, and lauded America's pioneering role in the international space
station, which she characterized as "keeping the country and the world
together."

Garver, who
accepted a hug from Bolden during the televised address, said she shared her
new boss's effusive management style.

"I know
feelings are something that weren't too popular the last few years at NASA. But
we're back. Feelings are back," she said.

Her remarks
stood in sharp contrast to those of Bolden's predecessor, Mike Griffin, who
once told a Capitol Hill breakfast audience, "I don't do feelings. Just think
of me as Spock."

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