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==Staff and leadership==
{{Main article|List of NASA Administrators}}
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[[File:Charles_Bolden_speaks_at_STS-135_wheels_stop_event.jpg|thumb|upright|Charles Bolden speaks after landing of the last Space Shuttle mission, [[STS-135]]]]
The agency's leader, [[List of Administrators and Deputy Administrators of NASA|NASA's administrator]], is nominated by the [[President of the United States]] subject to approval of the [[United States Senate|US Senate]], and reports to him or her and serves as senior space science advisor. Though space exploration is ostensibly non-partisan, the appointee usually is associated with the President's political party ([[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] or [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]), and a new administrator is usually chosen when the Presidency changes parties. The only exceptions to this have been: [[James C. Fletcher]], appointed by Republican [[Richard Nixon]] but stayed through May 1977 into the term of Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]]; [[Daniel Goldin]], appointed by Republican [[George H. W. Bush]] and stayed through the administration of Democrat [[Bill Clinton]]; and [[Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr.]], associate administrator under Democrat [[Barack Obama]] kept on as acting administrator by Republican [[Donald Trump]].<ref name="NASA_transition"/> Though the agency is independent, the survival or discontinuation of projects can depend directly on the will of the President.<ref name=":0" /> 

The first administrator was Dr. [[T. Keith Glennan]] appointed by Republican President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]. During his term he brought together the disparate projects in American space development research.<ref name="glennan_biography">{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Biographies/glennan.html |title=T. Keith Glennan biography |publisher=NASA |date=August 4, 2006 |accessdate=July 5, 2008}}</ref>

The third administrator, [[James E. Webb]] (1961–1968), appointed by President [[John F. Kennedy]], was a Democrat who first publicly served under President [[Harry S. Truman]]. In order to implement the [[Apollo program]] to achieve Kennedy's Moon landing goal by the end of the 1960s, Webb directed major management restructuring and facility expansion, establishing the Houston Manned Spacecraft (Johnson) Center and the Florida Launch Operations (Kennedy) Center. Capitalizing on Kennedy's legacy, President [[Lyndon Johnson]] kept continuity with the Apollo program by keeping Webb on when he succeeded Kennedy in November 1963. But Webb resigned in October 1968 before Apollo achieved its goal, and Republican President [[Richard M. Nixon]] replaced Webb with Republican [[Thomas O. Paine]].

James Fletcher was responsible for early planning of the [[Space Shuttle program]] during his first term as administrator under President Nixon. He was appointed for a second term as administrator from May 1986 through April 1989 by President [[Ronald Reagan]] to help the agency recover from the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster]]. 

Former [[astronaut]] [[Charles Bolden]] served as NASA's twelfth administrator from July 2009 to January 20, 2017.<ref name="confirmed">{{Cite press release |url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/jul/HQ_09-165_Bolden_and_Garver.html |title=Bolden and Garver Confirmed by U.S. Senate |date=July 15, 2009 |first=Michael |last=Cabbage |publisher=NASA |accessdate=July 16, 2009}}</ref> Administrator Bolden is one of three former astronauts who became NASA administrators, along with [[Richard H. Truly]] (served 1989–1992) and [[Frederick D. Gregory]] (acting, 2005).

The agency's administration is located at [[NASA Headquarters]] in Washington, DC and provides overall guidance and direction.<ref name="HQ">{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/hq/home/index.html|title=Welcome to NASA Headquarters|first=Mary|last=Shouse|date=July 9, 2009|accessdate=July 15, 2009}}</ref> Except under exceptional circumstances, NASA civil service employees are required to be [[Citizenship in the United States|citizens of the United States]].<ref>[http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/jobs/noncitizens.htm Information for Non U.S. Citizens], NASA (downloaded September 16, 2013)</ref>