NASA Chief not Ready to Continue under Biden: Report

SAN FRANCISCO:
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine has no intention to continue in his current position even if asked by the Joe Biden administration, said a media report.

In an interview to AerospaceDaily, Bridenstine said a new chief of the US space agency under the new administration would be in the best interest of America’s space exploration programme.

“The right question here is ‘What’s in the best interest of NASA as an agency, and what’s in the best interest of America’s exploration program?” Bridenstine was quoted as saying in the interview on Sunday.

“You need somebody who has a close relationship with the President of the U.S. … somebody trusted by the administration, including OMB (Office of Management and Budget), National Space Council, National Security Council. I think I would not be the right person for that in a new administration,” he said.

When President Donald Trump nominated the former Republican Congressman to lead NASA in 2017, many lawmakers opposed the idea of a politician heading the US space agency.

The Senate, however, confirmed him in April 2018, with lawmakers voting along party lines, The Verge reported.

Bridenstine’s unwillingness to continue under the Biden administration gains significance especially in the context of NASA’s ambitious goal of returning humans to Moon by 2024 under the Artemis programme.

He, however, told the AerospaceDaily that there is strong bipartisan support for Artemis.