Jurczyk Retires as NASA Associate Administrator News provided by Share this article Share this article WASHINGTON, May 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Steve Jurczyk, who served as acting NASA administrator from Jan. 20 to May 3, 2021, announced Monday he will retire on Friday, May 14, after more than three decades of service at NASA. Jurczyk has served as associate administrator, the agency's highest-ranking civil servant, since May 2018. He was the highest-ranking career civil servant leading NASA throughout the pandemic and most recently oversaw the successful landing of the Perseverance rover on Mars, a successful Green Run test of the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket, the naming of the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building, the launch of NASA's SpaceX Crew-2 to the International Space Station, and the return of Crew-1 back to Earth.