Ex-U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is Biden’s pick to lead NASA
Bill Nelson has been tapped by President Biden to serve as NASA administrator, according to a report by the technology news website The Verge. The Washington Post also reported Nelson as the expected choice.
If confirmed by the Senate, the 78-year-old former U.S. senator and space shuttle astronaut would be in charge of the agency as it prepares to return to the moon.
But the prospect of his selection has been met with criticism from advocates of the agency’s partnerships with private companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and Boeing, all of which have major operations on Florida’s Space Coast.
Nelson would neither confirm or deny the report when reached by the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday, saying he was under “radio silence.”
The official announcement was expected soon, The Verge reported. The Washington Post reported that an announcement could come as soon as today, but it could be delayed due to Thursday’s test of the Space Launch System, or SLS.
If approved, he would succeed former U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, who was narrowly confirmed 50-49 in 2017 in what was
the first contentious vote for the post. Nelson, in voting against the President Trump appointee, had argued that a politician should not be appointed to the post.
Nelson, a longtime Orlando resident, represented Central Florida in Congress before serving three terms as a U.S. senator. He was defeated for a fourth term by Republican
Rick Scott in 2018.
“I cannot think of anyone better to lead NASA than Bill Nelson,” Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio said in a statement Thursday.
Rubio, who served alongside Nelson for eight years, added, “there has been no greater champion, not just for Florida’s space industry, but for the space program as a whole than Bill.”
“His nomination gives me confidence that the Biden Administration finally understands the importance of the Artemis program, and the necessity of winning the 21st Century space race,” Rubio said.
Rubio also said in 2017 during the Bridenstine hearings that a politician should not run NASA, but ultimately voted in favor of Bridenstine because of concerns that the position would remain unfilled for an extended period of time.
Asked about Nelson, Scott spokeswoman Sarah Schwirian said, “As with every nominee, Sen. Scott looks forward to reviewing the qualifications of the NASA administrator nominee and hearing about their views on and experience with the space program.”
Nelson would become just the fourth former astronaut to lead NASA if approved. As a congressman, Nelson flew as a payload specialist on the Space Shuttle Columbia in January 1986, the last mission before the Challenger disaster.
He was considered one of the staunch advocates of NASA and the space program in his years in Washington, serving as the ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee that oversaw the program.
Nelson was co-sponsor of a 2010 bill that created the “dual track” of allowing commercial companies to kick-start heir own space programs while also paving the way for NASA to move beyond low Earth orbit to the moon and Mars.
But rumors of a Nelson pick last month resulted in many negative comments on social media because of his initial skepticism of commercial spaceflight and his backing of the SLS launch vehicle.
The SLS will propel Orion capsules into space as part of the Artemis moon mission, but it is billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule. Thursday’s test run comes after a previous one in January failed.
Simon Porter, an astrophysicist on the New Horizons mission, wrote on Twitter in February, “This is literally ‘Trump putting oil executives in charge of EPA’ levels of bad and corrupt. It has to be pushed by the lobbyists for the SLS contractors, and if Biden is even considering it, he’s listening to the lobbyists, not the professionals.”
Barry Bonzack, program planner for the Orion spacecraft at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, praised the Nelson pick as well as The Verge’s reporting that former astronaut Pam Melroy is being considered as Nelson’s deputy.
“Former Senator Nelson and Former Air Force officer and Test Pilot Pam Melroy are the right people to lead NASA including [its Artemis] Program,” Bonzack wrote on Twitter on Thursday. “Both flew in space, Melroy flew 3 times; commander STS-120.”
Former Oklahoma U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn, who chaired the House Science Committee’s space subcommittee, had also been mentioned as a potential pick for NASA.