The National Space Society (NSS) congratulates Representative Jim Bridenstine (R-OK-1) on his confirmation by the Senate to be the next NASA Administrator.
“NSS looks forward to working with Administrator Bridenstine to further the development and settlement of space,” said Dale Skran, the current NSS Executive Vice President and Chair of the NSS Policy Committee. “This has been a long and difficult approval process, but with today’s Senate vote NASA can move forward, ending a long period of leadership drift.”
Representative Bridenstine brings to his new job both political and aerospace experience. A three term member of Congress, Bridenstine served as a naval aviator from 1998-2007, and in the Naval Reserve 2010-2015, mainly flying the E-2C Hawkeye. Additionally, Bridenstine was the Executive Director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium. Bridenstine has degrees from Rice University (triple major in Economics, Psychology, and Business), and an MBA from Cornell.
“Representative Bridenstine is one of a growing group in Congress that fully appreciates the importance of space commerce and space resources to the human future,” said NSS Senior Vice President Bruce Pittman. “We look forward with great anticipation to working with Administrator Bridenstine to lead America back to the Moon and to develop a thriving economy in space.”
Mark Hopkins, the Chair of the NSS Executive Committee, added, “Some may be concerned that Representative Bridenstine is not an astronaut or scientist. We should all recall that one of the greatest NASA administrators, Jim Webb, was a lawyer.”
