Nasa’s Shuttle Director Quits

NASA’s space shuttle director, Bryan O’Connor, abruptly announced his resignation Friday.

In a brief written statement, the two-time shuttle flier said he was leaving NASA at the end of this month to pursue other interests. He did not elaborate.

O’Connor, 49, piloted shuttle Atlantis in 1985 and commanded a medical-research flight by Columbia in 1991 before going into shuttle management. He has been with NASA 16 years.