Luke Skywalker Nominated To Run NASA

Support builds for Bridenstine to lead NASA despite past skepticism on climate change, Washington Post

"In addition to backing work with younger, entrepreneurial firms, Bridenstine has also voiced his support for the traditional industrial base, made up of behemoths such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing. They want to ensure that programs such as the Space Launch System, the massive rocket being developed by NASA, and the Orion crew capsule continue, even though they've been criticized for being well over budget and behind schedule. "It's not 'or.' It's 'and,' " said Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. "It's the notion that you can have the traditional approach and you can have this newer commercial approach, and both could yield great benefits to the agency. Bridenstine understands as well as anyone the capabilities that are offered by both of these sectors."

Jim Bridenstine, Trump's pick to lead NASA, is eager to see humans on the moon and Mars, LA Times

"It's a different kind of pick, obviously," said John Logsdon, a professor emeritus and founder of George Washington University's Space Policy Institute. "He comes without experience in maintaining a large organization and without direct space program experience. He doesn't come out of the aerospace industry. On the other hand, he's spent a lot of time thinking about NASA, thinking about the space program. I think he comes better prepared intellectually to take on the job than most people that have held the position."

Trump's Pick For NASA's New Administrator Used to Own a Rocket Racing Team, Motherboard

"Trump tapped Rep. Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma to fill the role of NASA administrator. Unlike NASA administrators of the past, Bridenstine--a climate change denier, former fighter pilot, and moon lover--doesn't have any science education or background. But boy, does he love planes. He owned a team in the short-lived Rocket League Racing, the brainchild of a bunch of rich guys who just wanted to see some stuff go real fast. ... As part of a required financial disclosure from the House of Representatives, This Land notes that in order to buy in on RRL, he made an investment that was, in his words, "not that big." They report that it was somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000--he sold four houses and a five-acre ranchette to do it. In light of Trump's pick for head of NASA, let's take a look at Bridenstine's ill-fated hobby."

Keith's note: Bridenstine may not be everything that everyone traditionally wants a NASA Administrator to be. But he also has some qualities that his predecessors may have lacked. I do not get the impression that he scares easily and he's apparently willing to take risks and make leaps of faith. NASA has not done much of that in a long time. A dose of this might just be what the agency needs. Just sayin'

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