Tulsa Republican nominated to become next NASA chief
U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine has been nominated to be the next administrator of NASA, the White House announced Friday night.
Bridenstine, a 42-year-old Tulsa Republican, had taken the unusual approach of making clear his interest in the job. Bridenstine’s nomination will now head to the Senate for confirmation.
“I am pleased President Trump has announced his intent to name Jim Bridenstine as NASA Administrator today,” said U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa. “As the former administrator of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium, Jim Bridenstine’s lifelong passion for space, combined with his work in Congress on modernizing our nation’s space program will serve him well at NASA.”
If confirmed, Bridenstine would be the first former member of Congress to head a space agency traditionally seen as apolitical.
Most past administrators have been scientists.
“Rep. Jim Bridenstine has served his nation as a Navy pilot and as a U.S. representative specializing in satellite innovation,” said U.S. Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City. “His background in aviation and space, coupled with his commitment to fiscal responsibility, make him an excellent choice for NASA administrator.”
Bridenstine’s name had been floated for the post since December and he had done nothing to dissuade the Trump administration from choosing him.
Last year, Bridenstine introduced the American Space Renaissance Act and launched a website to promote the bill.
“Unfortunately, continued socioeconomic growth from space technology maturation and increased space access is no longer assured,” the website states. “Space is becoming more congested, contested, and competitive. We must establish responsible governance that will prevent mishaps, misperceptions, and mistrust, while assuring the use of space for all responsible parties.”
The bill garnered only one co-sponsor. It bounced around committees and subcommittees but failed to gain traction before dying in committee.
In late December, Bridenstine wrote a blog post, “Why the Moon Matters,” in which he argues the United States should return to the Moon for economic reasons, namely the mining of water ice.
“Water ice on the Moon could be used to refuel satellites in orbit or perform on-orbit maintenance,” he wrote. “Government and commercial satellite operators could save hundreds of millions of dollars by servicing their satellites with resources from the Moon rather than disposing of, and replacing, their expensive investments.”
“The objective,” he added, “is a selfsustaining, cis-lunar economy, whereby government and commercial operators save money and maximize the utilization of space through the use of lunar resources.”
Competition with China?
Bridenstine envisions a competition between the U.S. and China for lunar resources that we may already be losing. China has landers and rovers on the moon; the U.S. does not.
China has a manned space station of its own; the U.S. relies on the International Space Station.
“American adversaries are testing anti-satellite weapons and proliferating satellite jamming, spoofing, and dazzling technologies. It is time for the United States to re-posture and assert true space leadership,” the congressman wrote.
In Congress, Bridenstine has been a member of the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus, which has sparred with Republican House leadership. He is a member of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology, along with the Subcommittee on Space.
Before being elected to Congress in 2012, Bridenstine was a naval aviator in the U.S. Navy Reserve and executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum. Under a self-imposed term limit pledge, he was to leave Congress at the end of his current term in January 2019.
As for his future boss, Trump has not said much about NASA. In a 2012 tweet, he said it was “very sad to see” what President Barack Obama “has done with NASA.”
“He has gutted the program and made us dependent on the Russians,” Trump said, referring to joint American-Russian flights to the International Space Station.
In March, Congress unanimously passed and Trump signed the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017, which keeps NASA on course for a manned mission to Mars in 2033.
In April, Trump called the ISS to speak with astronauts there and mark an historic achievement by commander Peggy Whitson, who had spent more days in space than any other American. During the call, Trump asked the astronauts when humans could arrive on Mars.
When Whitson told him it would likely be in the 2030s, Trump said, “Well, we want to try and do it during my first term or, at worst, during my second term, so we’ll have to speed that up a little bit, okay?” Whitson vowed the astronauts would do their best.