His departure was effective Monday.
When contacted by phone on Tuesday evening, Loverro declined to comment on the reason for his departure.
Loverro began serving as chief of NASA's human space flight programs in December, replacing William Gerstenmaier, who held the position for more than a decade. In his nearly 700-word note, Loverro told NASA workers only that leaders are "called to take risks" and added that "I took such a risk earlier in the year because I have deemed it necessary to fulfill our mission. "
"Now, over time, it is clear that I made a mistake in this choice, the consequences of which I alone must bear," wrote Loverro. "And so, it is with a very, very heavy heart that I write to you today to let you know that I resigned from NASA as of May 18, 2020."
NASA's office of the Inspector General announced an audit of the agency's acquisition strategy for the Artemis program in March, although it is unclear whether this review was linked to Loverro's departure. It is also unclear what role Loverro played in the selection process.
The source familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity as the space agency has yet to release the details, told CNN Business that the incident was not related to the milestone from NASA next week when SpaceX, a NASA partner in the commercial crew program, is launched. two astronauts at the International Space Station. The mission will mark the first time since 2011 that humans have launched into orbit from American soil, and Loverro was scheduled to chair a final technical review meeting on Thursday before its launch on May 27. Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator of NASA, will take on the role of Loverro at this meeting, according to NASA.
Ken Bowersox, NASA's deputy assistant administrator for exploration and human operations, will become NASA's acting chief for human space flights.
Loverro's exit immediately raised eyebrows on Capitol Hill.
Texas Democrat Eddie Bernice Johnson, chair of the House Space and Science Committee, said in a statement that she was "shocked" by the news.
"I hope NASA administrator Bridenstine will make sure that the right decision is made whether or not to delay the launch attempt," said Johnson. "Beyond that, the resignation of Mr. Loverro is another troubling indication that the Artemis Moon-Mars initiative is still not on a stable basis. I look forward to clarification from NASA on the reasons for this last staff action. "
Oklahoma Democrat Kendra Horn, Chair of House Space Subcommittee, said in a tweet Tuesday that she was "deeply concerned about the sudden resignation, particularly eight days before the first scheduled launch of American astronauts on American soil for almost a decade. "
The timing of Loverro's departure was linked to the time when Jurczyk, the associate administrator, made a recommendation to NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine, the source said. It was unrelated to the launch of Crew Dragon next week, the source added.
Jurczyk was the source selection officer for the Artemis lunar lander contract, according to public documents.
In announcing Loverro's appointment in October, NASA chief Jim Bridenstine called Loverro "a respected strategic leader in civil and defense programs" who "will be of great benefit to NASA at this critical time" our final development of human space flight systems for both commercial crews and Artemis. "
An email sent to the entire agency on Tuesday said that Loverro "took the start" after his appointment in 2019 and made "significant progress in his time at NASA."
"His leadership of [NASA's Human Exploration and Operations] has brought us closer to our goal of landing the first woman and the next man on the moon in 2024, "the email said. He said his resignation was effective immediately, but did not provide details of the reason for his departure.
A NASA spokesperson declined to comment.
Loverro told CNN Business that he was "100% confident" that the leadership would be able to carry out the SpaceX mission. He added that he believed NASA's ambitious human space flight goals were "achievable". "But," he added, "it will take risk takers to get us there, and I hope people who put themselves in my shoes will continue to take risks."
The launch of SpaceX next week will mark the space agency's most prestigious mission since the end of the space shuttle program in 2011. SpaceX, which has a multi-billion dollar contract under the commercial crew program of NASA, worked for much of the decade to prepare its Dragon. spacecraft for crewed flights to the International Space Station. Since the shuttle retired, NASA has had to rely on Russia to travel to the ISS.
