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President Biden has hired former Democratic Senator Bill Nelson for the NASA administrator, according to three people familiar with the decision. Nelson, a politically experienced ally of the administration, is said to lead the space agency as it rushes to send humans back to the moon, ramps up its climate research, and expands its reliance on a thriving commercial space industry.
Former Congressman and US Senator from Florida for three terms, Nelson would succeed Jim Bridenstine, the NASA chief of former President Trump, whose past congressional experience has been essential to rally support for the Artemis program , an ambitious campaign to use the Moon as a springboard for future astronaut missions to Mars.
Biden’s decision comes nearly two months after taking office and as the White House remains largely silent on the deployment of any space policy agenda. Senate and NASA staff who were informed informally this week of Biden’s decision were told that an official announcement on Nelson’s appointment would be made this week, three sources said, speaking anonymously to discuss private conversations before the announcement. Former astronaut Pam Melroy is being considered for Nelson’s deputy, one of the sources said.
Rumors that Biden was considering leading Nelson as head of NASA had been openly circling in space industry circles for about a month, but it wasn’t until this week that the White House and NASA cemented the choice.
Nelson represented the Florida Space Coast as state legislator in the 1970s and defended NASA throughout his time in Congress. He became the second member of Congress to fly into space in 1986 as a payload specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. A moderate Democrat, Nelson served three terms in the Senate until losing his 2018 reelection bid to former Florida Governor Rick Scott.
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