Former Senator and Shuttle Veteran Nominated as Agency Administrator

Leaders of the National Space Society congratulated former Senator Bill Nelson on his nomination as the new NASA Administrator late last week.

“We welcome the selection of Senator Nelson to this post,” said Anita Gale, NSS CEO. “He has vast experience in politics, as well as experience flying aboard the space shuttle, both of which should be useful in this new posting,” Gale added. “As an aerospace engineer who has worked for NASA and Boeing, I understand the utility of both experiences.”

Nelson follows Jim Bridenstine, who also served in Congress, in the top job at NASA. Nelson has been a supporter of NASA’s Artemis program that will send the first woman and next man to the Moon later in this decade.

“There is precedent for a politician to be the NASA Administrator,” said NSS President Michelle Hanlon. “James Webb was a very capable politician who led Apollo to its amazing achievements, and of course Jim Bridenstine introduced the age of Artemis. We wish Senator Nelson the same success.”

NSS is the premiere human spaceflight advocacy group and looks forward to working with Nelson to assure the continued success of the partnership between NASA and private industry, especially with regard to the lunar Human Landing System (HLS) and the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) programs. To date, NASA’s new collaboration with private industry players, using fixed-fee contracting that prevents excessive cost overruns, has been incredibly successful. “We are eager to work with Senator Nelson and NASA to continue these very successful and cost-effective programs,” added Gale.