At the request of Senate Commerce Committee Co-Chairmen Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), the United States Senate this evening unanimously approved the nomination of Dr. Michael Griffin to be Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Senators Stevens and Inouye planned to consider the nomination at the Commerce Committee's mark-up on Thursday, April 14, 2005. However, Stevens and Inouye convinced their colleagues to approve the nomination quickly so that Dr. Griffin could immediately get to work assessing the safety of the Space Shuttle's expected return to flight in May. ###