Biden picks ex-U.S. Senator Nelson as NASA chief: White House

[Klaralven]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden has tapped former U.S. senator and astronaut Bill Nelson to lead the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the White House said in a statement on Friday.

Nelson, a Democrat from Florida - home to NASA’s Kennedy Space Station in Cape Canaveral - must secure U.S. Senate approval to be confirmed in the post.

Nelson has long held a deep interest in NASA. He flew on the space shuttle Columbia in 1986 and currently serves on the NASA Advisory Council.

Nelson, who served three terms in the Senate, would take control of NASA as it seeks to return humans to the moon for the first time since the 1970s and expands its reliance on a commercial space industry.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biden-nasa/biden-picks-ex-u-s-senator-nelson-as-nasa-chief-white-house-idUSKBN2BB1KT

[displacedtexan]

1. This is great news!

Nelson is kind, thoughtful, and extremely smart.

[PTWB]

2. Great pick!

[obamanut2012]

3. Great pick and well deserved!

[Talitha]

4. Wonderful news!!

[ScratchCat]

5. What's with this Biden guy?

He should have appointed someone with real space experience, like William Shatner or Harrison Ford. I mean, they faked that moon landing anyway.

(j/k)

[Tommy Carcetti]

6. Excellent choice.

Senator Nelson was one of NASA's biggest proponents during his tenure in the Senate.

[tavernier]

7. Bill Nelson is a great pick for that position!

Living in Florida, I didn’t always agree with him on his votes in the Senate, but I think the NASA position is where he was meant to be.

[Liberal In Texas]

8. What a concept. Put an actual astronaut in charge of NASA. n/t