President Barack Obama is set Tuesday to meet veteran shuttle astronaut Charles Bolden, the White House said amid speculation that he will name Bolden as NASA's first black chief.
"The visit with Mr Bolden will be tomorrow morning," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters Monday.
A meeting between Obama and Bolden planned for Monday was put off after talks between the US president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ran late, Gibbs said.
Major-general Bolden, a retired Marine pilot who saw service in Vietnam, flew on the first of four space flights in 1986 as a pilot on board the shuttle Columbia.
The 62-year-old aviation consultant is reportedly Obama's pick to become administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a post that has remained vacant since the president took office in January.
The African-American Bolden joined NASA's astronaut program in 1980 and also held several technical and administrative posts at the civilian space agency.
He would take over at a challenging time for NASA, after Obama's new budget ordered a review of a problem-plagued rocket that the agency hopes will replace its aging shuttle fleet to extend the future of manned US space flight.
Gibbs declined to confirm Bolden would be Obama's nominee but on Friday said the president would soon "meet with somebody about filling the important role of future NASA administrator."
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