NASA nominee’s vision for the agency downplays science
Office of Rep. Jim Bridenstine
Last year Representative Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) unveiled an ambitious program for space policy reform that would shift NASA’s focus away from scientific research in favor of human space exploration and the development of space-based infrastructure. At the time, Bridenstine described his American Space Renaissance Act as a repository for space policy reform ideas rather than as an active piece of legislation. Now that Bridenstine has been nominated by President Trump to lead NASA, that repository is drawing additional scrutiny.
Bridenstine would likely not have the authority to implement all of his vision as NASA administrator, nor would he likely find political backing for it. Congress has maintained funding for NASA’s science programs in recent years. Even the Trump administration’s budget proposal for next year, which hit many science programs hard, left NASA’s roughly $6 billion science budget largely intact. Moreover, it is unclear how Bridenstine would treat programs over which he has direct responsibility.
Nonetheless, Bridenstine’s legislation shows where his attention and his passions reside.
Science takes a backseat
In his bill, Bridenstine proposes a sweeping, multi-agency effort to build a national space “architecture” that prioritizes national security needs. The legislation attends closely to the development of capabilities for navigation, communications, reconnaissance, and weather forecasting, and it addresses the vulnerability of space-based assets to orbiting debris and attacks by foreign adversaries. The bill also aims to promote commercial space innovation as a critical path to securing the US’s place as “the preeminent spacefaring nation.”
Bridenstine’s proposal takes a dim view of the status quo at NASA. It states that the agency has lacked a “clear purpose or mission,” owing to a “lack of consistency in leadership along with budget uncertainty in out-years.” It declares:
NASA should undergo reorganization, altering its mission with a clearer focus, ridding itself of extraneous responsibilities handled elsewhere within the Federal Government or private industry, and standardizing activities across the whole of NASA.
Bridenstine proposes in the bill that NASA amend its institutional objectives , which would include eliminating current objectives for the “expansion of human knowledge of the Earth and of phenomena in the atmosphere and space” and the conduct of studies on “the utilization of aeronautical and space activities for peaceful and scientific purposes.” It would also set three new objectives that would form the core of a new “pioneering doctrine":
(1) The expansion of the human sphere of influence throughout the Solar System.
(2) To be among those who first arrive at a destination in space and to open it for subsequent use and development by others.
(3) To create and prepare infrastructure precursors in support of the future use and development of space by others.
The bill also contains provisions that would establish a special commission to select NASA’s administrator for five-year terms and allow the agency to receive multiyear appropriations. Notably, the legislation does support R&D that would advance the agency’s space exploration goals.
Leaning on private industry
Bridenstine’s interests have heavily informed his more piecemeal work in space policy during his four and a half years in Congress. He has advocated the development of new activities on the Moon and in the space between the Moon’s orbit and low Earth orbit. He has also successfully pressed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Defense Department to conduct pilot programs for purchasing commercial satellite data.
Bridenstine has also paid attention to the nation’s weather forecasting capabilities. He was one of the key players behind the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act, which was enacted in April after years of legislative work. As chair of the House Science Committee’s environment subcommittee from 2015 to 2016, he held a series of hearings on the progress of NOAA’s next-generation geostationary and polar-orbiting weather satellites. He has maintained strong support for those programs.
However, Bridenstine has not been a major participant in Science Committee hearings dedicated to subjects such as astronomy and planetary science. Some of his influential colleagues with a similarly conservative pedigree, such as Reps. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and John Culberson (R-TX), have been vocal proponents of these fields. Although Bridenstine does not appear to share their enthusiasms, both Smith and Culberson have endorsed Bridenstine as a sound choice for NASA administrator.
Military inspiration
Bridenstine is a member of the staunchly conservative Freedom Caucus. He supported Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the 2016 presidential election before becoming an unwavering Trump supporter.
But his views on space policy do not appear to be deeply linked to his politics. For instance, although he is a proponent of promoting commercial alternatives to federal space activities, he supports a strong government role in particular areas. In one hearing , he insisted, “I am not in any way suggesting the privatization of NOAA … or the National Weather Service.”
A large part of Bridenstine’s thinking appears to derive from his background in military aviation. He joined the Navy in 1998, after receiving his bachelor’s degree from Rice University with majors in business administration, economics, and psychology. He remained on active duty through 2007 and flew combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. In hearings, he has occasionally referred to this experience in discussing the importance of maintaining robust satellite-based capabilities.
Following his active duty, Bridenstine worked for a short time at defense contractor Wyle Laboratories and received a master’s degree in business administration from Cornell University. He was executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum from 2008 to 2010. He has also continued to fly missions with the Navy Reserve and the Oklahoma Air National Guard.
Mixed reactions
Despite Bridenstine’s engagement with space policy, his nomination is likely to draw at least some resistance. Bridenstine has criticized the consensus conclusions of climate scientists and the amount of money that the federal government invests in their research.
In a 2013 floor speech , Bridenstine asserted, “Global temperatures stopped rising 10 years ago. Global temperature changes, when they exist, correlate with Sun output and ocean cycles.” Claiming that the federal government spent “30 times as much money” on global warming research as on weather forecasting and warning, he accused President Obama of a “gross misallocation” of resources.
So far, the main point of criticism that lawmakers have leveled at Bridenstine is that he is a politician poised to lead an agency that many of them would like to keep outside of partisan politics. Senators Bill Nelson (D-FL), a former astronaut and the ranking member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and Marco Rubio (R-FL) expressed such concerns. But Bridenstine has the support of others in the chamber, including Cruz, who chairs the space subcommittee of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. He called Bridenstine “a strong, principled, and effective leader,” as well as a “close ally” and a “dear friend.”
This article is adapted from a 7 September post on FYI, which reports on federal science policy with a focus on the physical sciences. Both FYI and Physics Today are published by the American Institute of Physics.
