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Hi, I’m Pam Melroy and I had the incredible honor and privilege of having been sworn in recently

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by Administrator Nelson to be Deputy Administrator of NASA.

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So help me God. So help me God.

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Congratulations!

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I’m grateful to Administrator Nelson, the Senate who confirmed me,

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and President Biden and Vice President Harris for having the confidence in me to help lead the agency forward.

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And that’s exactly why we’re here – me, Administrator Nelson, and Associate Administrator Bob Cabana.

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We’re committed to leading NASA as a team with a shared goal: not just to lead today’s NASA, but to look toward the future,

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to turn science fiction into science fact, and to uncover stunning developments and discoveries that will change the world as we know it.

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When I was a little girl, America’s big, bold mission was landing on the Moon as part of the Apollo program.

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And watching the Saturn V blast off, seeing Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the Moon,

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it inspired me, and a generation of astronauts and engineers.

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I always dreamed of flying up into the clouds.

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Back in the 60s, girls were expected to play with dolls, not toy planes, but I always knew I wanted to fly.

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I’m incredibly grateful when I look back and realize how difficult it would be in any other country in the world

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for a little girl to grow up, and go into the Air Force, and become a test pilot, and an astronaut.

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I owe so much to the Air Force for inspiring me,

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but also for providing opportunities, and also providing me with leaders to learn from.

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Throughout my training, first in the ROTC program, then in the Air Force as a pilot and test pilot,

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and later at NASA in astronaut training, and over the course of my three amazing space missions on the Space Shuttle to the International Space Station,

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I learned that the first duty of a leader is to listen, and the second duty is to act.

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Being an astronaut is much more than actually flying in space. Although, granted, it always is our favorite part.

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We have the opportunity to get to work with people all around NASA,

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support missions that are on orbit or to come, to prepare and plan for the future.

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I’m very grateful for the opportunity to also have served at DARPA, which is an amazing organization, and shares DNA with NASA.

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They were both formed after Sputnik, and the realization in this country that first, we needed to up our game in space,

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and second, we needed to prevent strategic surprise in the future.

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As a result, some of the smartest people I’ve ever worked with are at NASA and at DARPA.

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The innovation was very rewarding, and in many ways, I felt completely unleashed there,

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and I’m excited about bringing some of that thinking back to some of the future challenges that we have at NASA.

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At an agency with so much talent, skill, and knowledge, it’s critical that we hear directly from our teams –

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to hear about what works; what needs improvement; and where we can better integrate.

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And after we’ve listened, we will act to support you.

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And that holds true for all NASA leadership

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because it’s our workforce that makes this agency so special, capable, and resilient in the face of adversity.

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So much of what NASA does is inspire the next generation.

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But in order to be successful in that inspiration, we have to continue to be leaders when it comes to diversity and equity.

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At NASA, we do not see only what has been, we see what can be.

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These shared set of core values – equity, safety, integrity, teamwork, inclusion,

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they’re evident in all we do, and they’re central to NASA’s success.

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But NASA couldn’t carry out any of our missions without our most important asset: you. The NASA workforce.

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I always like to say, it’s not just rocket propellant that launches spacecraft, its people,

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and that’s why it’s critical that NASA invests in the future,