The U.S. Senate approved former astronaut and former Florida state senator Bill Nelson as NASA administrator Thursday night (April 29).
Nelson’s nomination was unanimously approved by lawmakers, dispensing with a roll call vote. He will become NASA’s 14th administrator, replacing another former congressman, Republican Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma.
Nelson, a 78-year-old Democrat with a law degree, currently serves on the NASA Advisory Council and is a strong supporter of a return mission to the moon.
Nelson was born in September 1942 and grew up near Cape Canaveral. He served in the Florida House of Representatives for 14 years, from 1973 to 1991, during which time, on Jan. 12, 1986, at age 44, Nelson became the second member of the U.S. Congress to fly in space when he participated in the space shuttle Columbia mission STS-61-C.
That year’s commander, Charles Bolden Jr, had served as NASA administrator in the Obama administration at Nelson’s urging.
He then served as a member of Congress from 2001 to 2019.
Nelson issued a statement Thursday saying, “I am honored by the president’s nomination and the Senate’s vote, and I will work hard to repay that trust. Onward and upward!”
Nelson had pledged at the time of his nomination that he would “help lead NASA into an exciting future of possibilities” by working to put astronauts on the moon within the next decade.
The (NASA) workforce exudes optimism, ingenuity and a daring spirit,” Nelson said. As we venture out into the universe, NASA teams are continuing to achieve seemingly impossible missions.”
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