Today, President Donald J. Trump nominated Oklahoma Republican Congressman James “Jim” Bridenstine to serve as the next administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the $18 billion-dollar US agency leading the federal government’s space exploration efforts. Bridenstine gained recognition during his three terms in Congress for pursuing legislation to enable the commercialization of space-based resources and other issues relating to the exploration and exploitation of the vast resources of outer space.<\/p>\n
Representative Jim Bridenstine was the author and sponsor of the American Space Renaissance Act,\u00a0H.R.4945<\/span><\/a>\u00a0– 114th Congress (2015-2016), which is a comprehensive bill intended to broadly change US space policy to reflect new realities and national security priorities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>The bill stalled in committee, but it is worth reading key sections. Even though the authorship was necessarily the result of the work of many subject matter experts, and not penned directly by Rep. Bridenstine, it likely is an accurate roadmap to his thinking on key issues.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The Act addresses NASA’s troubles squarely, stating that it is the sense of Congress that the “lack of consistency in leadership along with budget uncertainty in out-years makes it extremely difficult for NASA to have a clear purpose or mission.”\u00a0 In that spirit, the bill sought to reorganize NASA, change and clarify its mission, privatize as many of its functions as possible, and standardize its\u00a0 processes.In other words, reorganize and downsize NASA itself, and allow private industry to proceed with the broader mission.<\/p>\n It would appear that Rep. Bridenstine is convinced that the bureaucratic inefficiencies of NASA are strangling its potential.If NASA’s devolving progress in pursuing space travel is any indication,\u00a0 Bridenstine may well be correct. This is particularly obvious when one considers the recent progress of private industry leaders like SpaceX and Blue Origin.<\/p>\n The nomination should be viewed in light of the recent announcement by President Trump’s administration of the formation of a National Space Council led by Vice President Pence and Executive Director Scott Pace, and populated with selected representatives from the government agencies who will serve on Council.The Council originated under the first President Bush, but has been defunct since 1993.The Council is expected to meet promptly;\u00a0 sources say within the first two weeks of September.<\/p>\n The National Space Council led by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Executive Director Scott Pace will focus on defense and economic policy rather than science and exploration,\u00a0 Autry said at the Space Technology and Investment Forum here.<\/p>\n Many believe that Bridenstine will favor a return to the Moon before we try to send humans to Mars, as President Obama pressed.Since the Moon is a logical candidate for a base of operations from which to launch exploratory missions to Mars, as well as a more achievable goal, it makes sense to return to the Moon before we attempt a mission to Mars.<\/p>\n