Like hooter US space administrators lacked at first (5)
I believe the answer is:
nasal
'like hooter' is the definition.
(hooter can mean a nose)
'us space administrators lacked at first' is the wordplay.
'us space administrators' becomes 'NASA' (National Aeronautics and Space Administration).
'at first' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'lacked' is 'l'.
'nasa'+'l'='NASAL'
(Other definitions for nasal that I've seen before include "Sounding affected by cold" , "Describing some hooter" , "Of noses" , "Part of helmet" , "pinched" .)