Goddard Space Flight Center director named

GREENBELT, Md., July 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency has named Rob Strain as director of its Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., NASA said.

Strain is currently the head of the Space Department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, Md. He will assume his duties as center director Aug. 4.

Goddard, located approximately 6 miles northeast of Washington, is a major U.S. laboratory for developing and operating unmanned scientific spacecraft. Goddard manages many of NASA's Earth observation, astronomy and space physics missions. The center is named in recognition of Robert Goddard, a pioneer of modern rocket propulsion in the United States.

Strain previously served as the associate department head and assistant department head for operations at the Applied Physics Lab's Space Division. Before that he held various executive positions with the Axiom Corp., the Orbital Sciences Corp. and the Fairchild Space and Defense Co.

He succeeds Edward Weiler, who was named associate administrator of NASA's science mission directorate in May.