After being introduced by several senators, Dr. Griffin answered questions about his qualifications to be the administrator of NASA. The nominee currently is head of the space department at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory. He said he was a wholehearted supporter of President Bush’s exploration vision to return humans to the moon in the next 10 to 15 years and ultimately launch manned flights to Mars and beyond. The committee members listed tasks for the next NASA administrator including saving the Hubble telescope and speeding the delivery of a new manned space vehicle. A vote was scheduled for later in the day and approval was expected, with members saying it was urgent to get Mr. Griffin on the job before the planned launching next month of the first space shuttle mission since the Columbia broke up over Texas in February, 2003.

The committee also heard testimony from Mr. Boardman, nominee for administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration; Nancy Nord, nominee for commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission; and William W. Cobey, Jr., nominee for member of the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.