Bill Nelson came to NASA to do two things, and he’s all out of bubblegum - Ars Technica

Enlarge / NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has been a dependable manus for the abstraction agency.

NASA

Not for the archetypal time, I was wrong. And heading into an interrogation earlier this period with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, I knew it.

"Before I inquire immoderate questions, I conscionable privation to accidental something," I said astatine the outset of our discussion. "I wrote immoderate captious things astir you astatine the clip you were nominated to beryllium the administrator. And I was conscionable incorrect astir them."

Nelson chuckled successful response.

"I indispensable say, arsenic a politician, you get accustomed to criticism," helium said. "If I remembered each of the criticisms I person gotten implicit the years, I would beryllium a handbasket case. I get capable criticisms astatine location from the coaching that I person from Grace Nelson, and I amended retrieve those criticisms. But the ones successful authorities and nonrecreational life, I don't adjacent retrieve it."

President Biden nominated Nelson to go the head of NASA connected March 21, 2021. At the time, Nelson seemed excessively aged for a abstraction bureau that was rapidly changing. He besides had been a professional of the commercialized abstraction manufacture that the bureau was progressively turning to for lower-cost services. And helium had harshly criticized the erstwhile administrator, Jim Bridenstine, saying a person should not pb the abstraction agency. (Nelson was a person for 45 years anterior to starring NASA.) My communicative astir his nomination reflected these concerns.

None of this mattered successful the nominating process. Nelson's erstwhile colleagues successful the US Senate, wherever helium served for 18 years, swiftly confirmed him to the presumption by a dependable vote.

Since then, Nelson has led NASA similar a statesman. Behind the scenes, helium ensured helium had 2 susceptible lieutenants to assist. Pam Melroy, lone the 2nd pistillate to bid a abstraction shuttle, became his lawman administrator. Nelson's person and different erstwhile shuttle commander, Bob Cabana, was tapped to go subordinate administrator. Nelson delegated the method details to them. And helium did what helium does best—schmooze.

Along the way, helium has managed to beauteous overmuch charm everyone, including immoderate of america successful the media who were skeptical. He has been, by nary means, perfect. Often helium speaks successful platitudes and generalities. But helium is getting the occupation done. Ask beauteous overmuch anyone who has travel into interaction with Nelson during his tenure arsenic head and you'll get immoderate saltation of, "He's conscionable a genuinely bully feline who has delivered for the agency."

Nelson does not merit recognition for each of the abstraction agency's achievements during the 18 months since helium took implicit arsenic administrator. Many of these projects were begun years oregon decades ago. But helium has brought them implicit the decorativeness enactment and led the bureau into what is simply a aureate epoch for galore of its programs. Consider immoderate of NASA's caller achievements:

• Launch and deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope, a $10 cardinal task that could easy person failed
• Launch and palmy formation of the long-delayed Artemis I mission, kicking disconnected the instrumentality of NASA astronauts to heavy space
• Preserving the fragile International Space Station concern with Russia amid the tumult of the Russian warfare against Ukraine
• DART interaction ngo a success, yet fulfilling NASA's mandate to show a capableness of deflecting an asteroid
• Securing afloat backing for the Artemis program, including for spacesuits and SpaceX's Starship lunar lander

Given the achievements above, it tin beryllium reasonably argued that 2022 was the champion twelvemonth for NASA since 1969, erstwhile Apollo 11 landed connected the Moon. Moreover, the aboriginal is agleam for the abstraction agency. For its subject directorate, NASA officials tin constituent to a drawstring of ongoing subject ngo successes—the Ingenuity chopper is yet flying connected Mars aft much than a year, for example—and a pipeline of forthcoming exploration missions that see returning Martian rocks to Earth portion visiting the intriguing moons of Europa and Titan. And with humans, for the archetypal clip since Apollo, NASA has a credible way for quality exploration of the Moon and perhaps, 1 day, Mars with the Artemis program.

Nelson has had the bully consciousness to treble down connected Artemis, which was created by his predecessor, Bridenstine. All excessively often caller administrations, and caller administrators, person junked the enactment of those who person travel before, particularly erstwhile they're from a antithetic governmental party. But Nelson has been singing the praises of Artemis from time one. And he's been faithful to its extremity of sustainability, too.