Leading NASA in Space Exploration: James E. Webb, Apollo and Today

Do agency leaders make a difference in discovery? Do they influence large-scale, long-term science and technology programs? There are those who believe such individuals, the "CEOs" of public organizations, make little difference. Others disagree. In his efforts to gear NASA for a return to the Moon by 2020, Administrator Michael Griffin has looked to James Webb, NASA’s Apollo-era leader, for lessons learned. What did Webb do? How? Are political and administrative strategies that worked in the 1960s transferable to the early 21st century? This essay examines those questions in tracking Webb’s role as NASA Administrator when America went to the Moon and the implications of this case in leadership for the present and future.