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NASA’s Spaceflight Chief Resigns Over Unspecified ‘Mistake’ Ahead of Important Launch

The U.S. is set to launch a manned space flight for the first time since 2011, but Douglas Loverro is out.

NASA’s head of human spaceflight has resigned, Politico reports. Douglas Loverro, who served as the associate administrator for the human exploration and operations mission directorate, said in a letter to NASA employees that he was leaving due to a “mistake” and “with a very, very heavy heart.” Loverro wrote that he had misjudged an unspecified risk that he must bear the consequences of: “My leaving is because of my personal actions, not anything we accomplished together.” His resignation, just seven months into his tenure, comes ahead of the planned May 27 launch of a manned spaceflight from U.S. soil for the first time since 2011.