NASA: New NASA Administrator takes the oath

New NASA Administrator takes the oath

From
Stefan Dieters
astronews.com
4. May 2021

NASA has a new president: Yesterday, Vice President Kamala Harris was sworn in as former Senator Bill Nelson as the 14th director. He succeeds Jim Bridenstein who was proposed by Trump. Nelson is an experienced space politician who was on the space shuttle in 1986
Colombia Even in space.

About four and a half months after US President Biden took office, NASA has a new president: Yesterday, former Senator Bill Nelson was sworn in before Vice President Kamala Harris as the fourteenth NASA director. The position of NASA officials is tied to the president in question, so that Nelson’s predecessor Jim Bridenstein’s term ends automatically when Donald Trump leaves office. At the ceremony in the ceremonial office of the Old Executive Office Building in Washington, Harris, Nelson and their families attended the former NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, the running for deputy director after Pam Millroy. The predecessor Bridenstine was connected via video link.

Nelson said after the ceremony, “It was an honor to have Vice President Harris sworn in as Director of NASA, and I look forward to another strong relationship with her as chair of the National Space Council.” He also emphasized the participation of his predecessors, who served under the presidency from different parties: their presence was a symbol of continuity and impartiality. “It’s an amazing time for the space sector and I look forward to leading NASA’s workforce to an exciting future!”

As Harris emphasized, “I could not agree with you: It should be about our nation and what is best for our nation, unencumbered by party politics and based on what we know is right.” The US Senate certified Nelson as an official on April 29, 2021.

Nelson has been closely involved in a long history of collaborating with NASA and developing the space agency in recent years. Before being nominated, he was a member of the NASA Advisory Board. From 2001 to 2019 Nelson Florida represented in the US Senate, being the highest-ranked member of the
Trade, Science and Transport Committee Served and chaired the Subcommittee on Science and Space.

Nelson previously represented Florida counties 9 and 11 in the United States House of Representatives. While chairing the Space Subcommittee of the House of Representatives, Nelson flew aboard the Space Shuttle in 1986 as a payload specialist on the STS-61C mission. ColombiaHe conducted a dozen medical experiments, including America’s first stress test in space and a cancer research trial. His predecessor Charles Bolden also participated in the mission, albeit a pilot.