NASA has gone a year without a formal leaderwith no end in sight

Enlarge/ Astronaut Charles Bolden served as NASA's administrator for more than seven years.
NASA

More than a year has now passed since four-time astronaut Charles Bolden resigned as NASA administrator on January 20, 2017, after seven years on the job. NASA has been led by an acting administrator, Robert Lightfoot, ever since. It is unprecedented for NASA to go without formal leadership for this long.

Five months ago, the Trump administration finally put forward a nominee for the post of administrator, Oklahoma Congressman and pilot James Bridenstine. Although he was confirmed along a party-line vote twice during Senate confirmation hearings, he has yet to receive a vote before the full Senate. Increasingly, it is obvious that the White House does not have the votes to confirm Bridenstine in a Senate where Republicans hold only a narrow margin.

Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, has led opposition to Bridenstine, saying he is too politically polarizing a figure to lead NASA. Nelson has convinced his fellow Floridian Senator, Republican Marco Rubio, to oppose Bridenstine as well. However, Nelson's motivations may not be just the sanctity of NASA's bipartisanship, as Bridenstine may not be pliable enough for the Florida Senator who is looking out for the interests of Kennedy Space Center. Nelson may be more interested in someone like Kennedy's director, Bob Cabana, as a potential Bridenstine replacement.

Talking to Bolden

The politics of all this may take months more to sort out. In the meantime, NASA faces the difficult task of implementing changes to its human exploration programs sought by the Trump administration, including pivoting toward lunar landings and ending operations on the International Space Station by 2025.

In an interview with Ars, Bolden, the long-time administrator of NASA, said the space agency would have a difficult time doing making these important changes without a recognized leader. While praising the efforts of Lightfoot, a long-time civil servant, Bolden said an acting administrator can only do so much during policy and budget fights, as an acting administrator doesn't have the stature to stand up for the agency.

"First and foremost, the job of an administrator is to take care of the people of NASA," Bolden said. "To have a formal administrator for this, I think it's vital."

Bolden said he is reserving judgment on Bridenstine for now. "I don’t support him and I don’t oppose him," Bolden added, saying he had limited interaction with Bridenstine when he was administrator.

Bolden also counts himself as a skeptic of the National Space Council concept, because it creates another layer of bureaucracy between the NASA administrator and the president of the United States. However, he said the choice of Scott Pace to lead the recently reconstituted council was a good one, as Pace understands the importance of the government's role in managing spaceflight efforts. "Despite my skepticism, I’m optimistic about the potential for the space council under Vice President Pence and Scott Pace," Bolden said.

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