George Low Becomes NASA’s Deputy Administrator

As the budget review went forward, an important new player in future space decisions entered the stage. Since he had left his position as NASA’s deputy administrator in October 1968 to become acting administrator, Tom Paine had been without a deputy. The White House was under pressure to appoint Republicans loyal to Richard Nixon to various NASA positions. For exam­ple, as early as March 1969 a young Texas Congressman (and future presi­dent), George H. W. Bush, had noted that “NASA is about the only agency that does not have a pro-Nixon, Administration-oriented contact man,” and suggested “correcting this situation. . . so that we can be assured of getting qualified Republicans and Nixon supporters into jobs there.” The White House personnel office was sympathetic to this and similar pleas and urged Flanigan to find a qualified Republican for the deputy position. Flanigan suggested to Paine appointing Gordon McDonald, a California-based scien­tist; when Paine met with McDonald, he judged him not well qualified for the job. Instead, on September 19 Paine recommended the appointment as deputy administrator of George M. Low, a career NASA employee. Paine told the president that it had been “my hope initially to find a high-level candidate with qualifications similar to those of Mr. Low who wished to join the government from private life and, hopefully, with strong science, space engineering and Republican backgrounds,” but that “my search for such an individual was unsuccessful.” Paine characterized Low, then 43 years old, as “one of the country’s most brilliant young technical managers.” He pointed out that Low, who had served both as deputy director of the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston and, after the 1967 Apollo 204 fire, as man­ager of the Apollo spacecraft program, had made essential contributions to Apollo’s success.6

Low was an Austrian-born engineer whose family had immigrated to the United States in 1939, after the German takeover of Austria. He became a U. S. citizen in 1949 and received a M. S. in aeronautical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1950. He at that point was already work­ing for the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA), NASA’s predecessor organization, and had risen steadily in responsibility within NACA and NASA during his 20-year career. Even at a relatively young age, he was widely known and respected within the aerospace profession.

As the White House considered whether to accept Paine’s recommenda­tion, Low traveled to Washington to meet with science adviser Lee DuBridge and Flanigan. DuBridge was not well briefed for the meeting; according to Low, he “was under the impression that I was already on the job” and wanted to discuss NASA’s future. The meeting with Flanigan was “not quite so sat­isfactory.” The meeting lasted only ten minutes, and Flanigan was “quite

provocative” in his questions. Low felt that he “was not communicating very well at all”; the meeting ended abruptly when Flanigan announced that he had an appointment with the president.7

Low apparently made a better impression on Flanigan than he thought. On October 21 Flanigan sent a memorandum to President Nixon recom­mending that Low’s appointment be approved. He told the president “I have met Mr. Low and he is obviously a very capable individual.” Flanigan noted that Frank Borman, the president’s favorite astronaut, had characterized Low as “a man who has done a superior job. Perfectly capable of assuming utmost responsibility.” After his meeting with Low, Flanigan checked again with Borman, who indicated “his complete support” of Low’s appointment. Ehrlichman, likely after clearing the appointment with the president, ini­tialed the “Approve” box on Flanigan’s memorandum. Low’s confirmation hearing was on November 25, and he was sworn into his position by Tom Paine on December 3.8

Low would become a central participant in 1970-1972 space policy and program debates and decisions. He had a low-key, steady personality that was an effective complement to Tom Paine’s more ebullient style, but was also very tough-minded and more politically astute than Paine. Low was meticulous in style, and, like Bob Haldeman, Nixon’s chief of staff, on an intermittent basis kept a detailed personal diary.