Major General Charles F. Bolden, a former astronaut and NASA administrator, will keynote the 2018 SC Aerospace Conference set for Oct. 9-10 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

A retired Marine Corps major general, Bolden served for 34 years in the military. His accomplishments include logging more than 7,000 hours as a naval aviator and test pilot. Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009, he served as NASA’s top official until January 2017.

A Columbia native, Bolden recently donated items from his personal archive to the University of South Carolina.