Eventually Melvin became associate administrator for the NASA Office of Education, which runs the same programs that funded his education. “If it hadn’t been for NASA Education I wouldn't have been funded to go to school, to work at NASA Langley, to become an astronaut,” Melvin said. The $115 million NASA Office of Education is one of several science programs on the chopping block in President Trump's 2018 budget proposal. Georgia Tech professor Stephen Ruffin, who chairs the national council of NASA Space Grant directors, said he was "very concerned" by the proposed elimination of the education office. "The nation wants a NASA space program and aviation program that continues to lead the world," he said.

Source: Washington Post March 16, 2017 19:58 UTC