Former NASA chief turned ULA lobbyist seeks law to limit SpaceX funding
Source: Ars Technica
A highly regarded administrator
A former Republican House member from Oklahoma, Bridenstine served a generally well‑regarded term as NASA administrator from April 2018 to January 2021 during President Trump’s first term.
The high point of his tenure came in May 2020, thanks to SpaceX. That summer, with the Crew Dragon vehicle, SpaceX and NASA successfully flew two astronauts to the International Space Station, breaking America’s dependence on Russia for low‑Earth‑orbit transportation. Bridenstine relished this with an oft‑repeated mantra of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil.
After leaving NASA, Bridenstine appeared to become hostile to the dominant company founded by Elon Musk. He joined the board of a competitor, Viasat, and later became the executive of Government Operations for United Launch Alliance, in addition to his firm collecting a hefty lobbying fee.
This revolving‑door movement is not unusual in Washington, D.C., where senior officials move between government positions and industry. Nevertheless, some observers were surprised by the striking manner in which Bridenstine attacked NASA for the decision to award a Human Landing System contract to SpaceX in April 2021, three months after he left office. A new administrator had not yet been confirmed, so senior NASA engineer Steve Jurczyk served as acting administrator at the time.
Attacking his own process
Bridenstine sharply criticized this lander decision during testimony before Senator Cruz’s committee last September.
“There was a moment in time when we had no NASA administrator,” he said at 42 minutes into the hearing. “It was after I was gone, and before Senator Nelson became the NASA administrator. An architecture was selected. And I don’t know how this happens, but the biggest decision in the history of NASA, at least since I’ve been paying attention, the biggest decision happened in the absence of a NASA administrator. And that decision was, instead of buying a Moon lander, we’re gonna buy a big rocket.”