Nasaleader won’t stay under new administration
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine does not plan to stay with the agency under Presidentelect Joe Biden’s administration.
In an interview with Aviation Week & Space Technology, Bridenstine said that he would leave NASA — even if asked to stay — to ensure that it had the best chance of success in the new administration.
“What you need is somebody who has a close relationship with the president of the United States,” Bridenstine told Irene Klotz of Aviation Week & Space Technology. “You need somebody who is trusted by the administration … including the OMB (Office of Management and Budget), the National Space Council and the National Security Council, and I think that I would not be the right person for that in a new administration.”
NASA confirmed what was said in Aviation Week & Space
Technology.
Bridenstine, a Rice University graduate, was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 13th NASA administrator in April 2018.
His confirmation hearing was quite contentious, recalled John Logsdon, a retired professor and founder of George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute.
“I just remember coming away with a sour taste because of how nasty the Democrats — and there was a large turnout at his hearing — how nasty their questions were,” he said.
Bridenstine was a Republican U.S. representative when Trump nominated him to lead NASA. He was criticized for being a politician and for previous statements he had made regarding climate change. He was also considered unqualified due to his lack of experience managing a large organization. Prior to becoming a congressman, Bridenstine had been executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium. He was a Navy pilot and is a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan.
But he got the job — 50-49 along party lines — and proceeded to exceed all expectations, Logsdon said.
“He can leave feeling that he’s been a positive force in setting the agency on the path to get back to the moon and on a sound science program,” Logsdon said. “He’s developed good relationships with the private sector. He’s been an advocate for commercial space activity.”
Due to the partisan background of Bridenstine’s appointment and his close working relationship with the Trump administration, Logsdon agreed with Bridenstine’s statement that NASA could be better off with a leader more compatible with the Biden administration.
Many others, however, would have liked Bridenstine to stay at the helm of NASA — even if they knew it was unlikely.
Bob Mitchell, president of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership for 12 years, said new presidents like to name new NASA leaders.
His hope is that Bridenstine works until the very last minute. Mitchell doesn’t want to see the agency lose momentum (it’s too close to returning to the moon) waiting for a new leader to be appointed.
“Jim Bridenstine is the best administrator that we’ve had in the last 20 years,” Mitchell said. “He had a vision. He laid out a plan, and he worked to that plan. And from a spokesperson viewpoint, he’s been absolutely the best.”
David Alexander, director of the Rice University Space Institute, also said that Bridenstine has been a really good administrator. It’s a rather widespread opinion, he said.
Alexander admires how Bridenstine talks to people and inspires them to be engaged with space. Bridenstine doesn’t just say that NASA has a rover on Mars doing great science — he provides details on that science.
“It shows that these things are important,” Alexander said. “Understanding the science is important. My impression is that he really loves NASA, and he likes to always show it in the best light.”
“Jim Bridenstine is the best administrator that we’ve had in the last 20 years. He had a vision. He laid out a plan, and he worked to that plan.” Bob Mitchell, president of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership