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Bush Names CIA VC To Head NASA

The White House said Friday that President Bush has named a former venture capitalists to the head of NASA. Michael D. Griffin, former President and COO of In-Q-Tel, the venture capital arm of the CIA, was named by the White House Friday as Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Griffin is current head of the Space Department at the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and has also served as Chief Engineer at NASA and Deputy for Technology at the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization. In-Q-Tel has invested in Southern California firms Language Weaver and Softlinx, among other firms targeted for their development of technologies considered important for natioanl security interests. The move comes on the heels of the resignation of NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe in December.