Bill Nelson Confirmation Hearing Today
Testimony By Bill Nelson Nominee for Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
“I also believe NASA plays an important role in inspiring the next generation of inventors and scientists. After the Apollo program, thousands of young people dedicated themselves to studying engineering, science, and computing. Not all of these people joined the space program. Some went into biology or the nascent computer industry. They made this country a technology and economic powerhouse. 60 percent of people alive today weren’t alive to see a human walk on the Moon. Imagine who NASA and America inspires when we return to the Moon, and this time include women and people of color.
Finally, the President has highlighted that space investments spur economic growth, improve life on Earth, and keep America competitive. Through all NASA activities, the agency generated more than $64.3 billion in total economic output during fiscal year 2019, supported more than 312,000 jobs nationwide. Every state in the country benefits economically from NASA. Investments in research and technology are our seed corn for future economic growth, and are a key part of the Build Back Better plan.”
Keith’s note: The hearing got started with a seemingly endless stream of compliments that included the phrase “my good friend Bill Nelson”. By the time that ended it was obvious that Nelson was going to be confirmed no matter what he said. Nelson was light on specifics – saying that he was nto allowed to talk to NASA – which is a little strange given how NASA helped him prepare Nelson for this hearing and escorted him around the Hill for office visits.
Sen. Wicker asked a question wherein he stated that NASA was planning a Moon landing on 2024 and a Mars landing in 2029, Nelson did not seek to correct Wicker about the 2029 Mars date. Later in the hearing Sen. Blackburn said that the Mars landing was planned for 2030. Nelson did not correct that. Later he said that the 2024 Lunar landing timetable set by the Trump Administration is still in place and that “space is hard”. Nelson later said going to Mars was set to happen in the decade of the 2030s. So it is apparent that Sen. Nelson is somewhat uncertain about exactly what all of NASA’s major human spaceflight goals are.
Nelson also tried to pass off some revisionist history wherein he was a staunch supporter of a “dual course” wherein NASA pursued both a government and commercial path do doing things in space. In reality he was a staunch supporter of the government approach (SLS aka “the big rocket”) and sought to limit or move funds for commercial space to support SLS. Now he’s found religion and claims to be a strong supporter of commercial space. So, stay tuned.
Sen. Cantwell made several comments suggesting that she was not exactly thrilled with the recent decision by NASA to sole source the Human Landing System (HLS) contract to SpaceX. Nelson made several comments saying that he supported competition in such activities but did not go so far as to suggest that he might change the HLS award to SpaceX. Given that the NASA HLS decision was overtly driven by NASA budget shortfalls efforts by Nelson to increase NASA’s budget might hint at a revisit to this decision.
As for NASA and China – well, Nelson said that NASA will adhere to the law- specifically that enacted by Rep. Wolf. Regarding the Artemis Accords Nelson said that he hopes to expand the number of signatories to include countries that have yet to sign – with a focus on peaceful uses of space.
When asked what the specific value of the Biden budget for NASA Earth Science and climate change Nelson had no real specific answer other than to support the budget increase and note that NASA observes climate change and that this is (obviously) important.
Nelson was asked about education benefits that can be derived from the space program. He replied that “This is one of the areas I really want to pour the juice to at NASA as requested by the White House.” He repeated the ‘juice’ phrase several more times. One would hope that Nelson is looking to truly overhaul NASA’s education office and fix what is broken – and not simply pour money into it.
Again, as far as Nelson’s confirmation is concerned, based on the hearing, this is a done deal.
I hope he can redeem himself and gain a NASA nickname other than Ballast.
Remembering that ballast has a positive connotation, as well, as the thing that keeps the ship upright and stable so that it can continue on its journey, I hope that the nominee can earn that other meaning of his nickname during his tenure.
Crew 2, the Mars helicopter and SN15 are all exciting fun activities this week, but the interactions of Nelson and congress on SLS and Space X may be the most significant for our future.
Does Nelson outweigh Crew-2, Ingenuity and SN 15? I don’t think so. But I wish him better luck than Bridenstine had in separating congress from our money.
Well, if he is as hostile to Space X as many Congress people then that might be very significant to our future. I am hoping for the best, am cautiously optimistic based upon what I have heard so far, and – like you – wish him luck.
Agreed.
Bridenstine’s success may prove to be more long-term than short-term. He helped keep things moving forward, creating momentum. He changed Artemis from Trump’s vanity project into an international consortium with shared goals. The Biden Administration’s decision to stay the course is testament to Bridenstine’s success. Budgets will be higher in the long run because of his work.
Yeah. I’m a big fan.
It looks like Nelson and congress are both going to go along with the Space X award for HLS. This is excellent news for US space progress!
To be fair, I think plenty of people are engaging in revisionist history now that SpaceX is far and away the global technological leader in spaceflight and launches. A lot of people didn’t see this happening quite as it was, myself included. Even recently, I was saying just a week ago here how I’m not seeing Starship and Superheavy fly beyond periodic test flights until after 2025 and that Falcon 9 will be SpaceX’s core vehicle for the 2020s. Well now with the HLS award, that simply cannot be the case. Superheavy and Starship has to fly, and a lot sooner than we expect.
It’s been such a windy road the past 20 years. From X-33/VentureStar to Orbital Space Plane to “Shuttle through 2030” to Constellation, past the DIRECT detour, to SLS+Orion, and then Falcon / Dragon, and now with Starship. In many ways we ended up in a really optimal position for doing big things in space in a sustainable manner, but it’s taken a road no one could foresee.
I often think of where I was when I heard Shuttle Columbia has broken up. I was getting breakfast with Mom, on the way back from meeting my college counselor at my high school, who just told me I had been accepted early admission into my top choice. It was a day that went from real high to real low real quick.
I imagine what it would be like to tell myself back then what would happen in spaceflight over the next 18 years. I think some of me would be frustrated and disappointed, but some of me wouldn’t believe the progress that would be made.
My hope for BIll Nelson is he largely stays out of the way. He faces an incredibly hard act to follow in Jim Bridenstine, who I very much would have liked to continue on for as long as he wanted the job. But if he has found religion, so to speak, after walking the same long path from the mid-Shuttle era to the week that a private company was named to land people on the Moon commercially, then he should be welcomed in as a brother.
He just needs to understand: there is no going back to the old way of doing things. Not after SpaceX’s success.
I have a bad feeling about this. The ‘waffling’ and poor NASA knowledge are very bad signs.
I’ve had experience with semi-knowledge people coming into an organization with ‘sleeves rolled up’, bringing an attitude that the ‘answer’ lives in thier leadership, only to set the organization back, often seriously.
Nelson is that guy. Hold onto your hats and just hope Ms. Lueder’s decision sticks. Got my doubts.