posted 07-09-2025 08:22 PM               

I am pleased to announce that I am directing our great Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, to be Interim Administrator of NASA. Sean is doing a tremendous job in handling our country's transportation affairs, including creating a state-of-the-art air traffic control systems, while at the same time rebuilding our roads and bridges, making them efficient, and beautiful, again.

He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important space agency, even if only for a short period of time. Congratulations, and thank you, Sean!

Honored to accept this mission. Time to take over space. Let's launch.

posted 07-10-2025 10:42 AM               

I am honored to have served the President as the acting NASA Administrator for the past 6 months. His decision to appoint Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy as acting Administrator reflects the high priority he places on our agency at this pivotal time.

I've had the opportunity to work closely with Secretary Duffy — including during Crew-9's return in the Space Operations Center at NASA Headquarters — and I'm confident in his leadership as we carry forward the President's ambitious agenda.

I look forward to supporting a smooth transition and returning home to Kennedy Space Center as Center Director. At home in Florida, I'll continue to work hand-in-hand with Secretary Duffy to propel the President's ambitious goals.

...Trump wanted someone he liked and trusted running NASA. This is probably a benefit for the agency, as it will give NASA a direct line to the president. For example, Duffy can text Trump if NASA needs something or is being treated unfairly during the budgeting process.

Petro did not have that kind of political sway, and this is a White House in which access to the president matters a great deal. The agency was in great peril, as there was no one in headquarters who could push back on harmful things being done to NASA or get things done. Duffy will have that kind of pull. But he will also be incredibly busy already with the Department of Transportation.

posted 07-11-2025 07:19 PM               

And to be fair to Duffy, he wasn't only a television personality. He was also a district attorney and a congressman who represented Wisconsin from 2011 to 2019. If anything, he has more in common with Jim Bridenstine than he does Bergman.

That said, Duffy seemingly showed no interest in NASA's activities while in Congress and, as mentioned, he will not be able to dedicate his full attention to the space agency while still also leading the Department of Transportation.

posted 09-03-2025 09:44 AM               

Acting NASA Administrator Duffy Selects Exploration-Focused Associate Administrator

Acting NASA Administrator Sean P. Duffy Wednesday named Amit Kshatriya as the new associate administrator of NASA, the agency's top civil service role.

A 20-year NASA veteran, Kshatriya was most recently the deputy in charge of the Moon to Mars Program in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) at NASA Headquarters in Washington. In this role, Kshatriya was responsible for program planning and implementation for crewed missions to the Moon through the Artemis campaign in preparation for humanity's first mission to Mars.

Promoting Kshatriya to NASA's top ranks puts America's return to the Moon through Artemis at the very core of our agency. The move exemplifies President Donald J. Trump and Duffy's seriousness about returning Americans to the Moon and before China.

"Amit has spent more than two decades as a dedicated public servant at NASA, working to advance American leadership in space. Under his leadership, the agency will chart a bold vision to return to the Moon during President Trump's term," said Duffy. "Amit's knowledge, integrity, and unwavering commitment to pioneering a new era of exploration make him uniquely qualified to lead our agency as associate administrator. With Amit we'll continue to push the boundaries of what's possible."

Kshatriya's promotion also signals how the Trump Administration sees the commercial space sector as an American economic engine. By putting a proven leader at the top, NASA is set to partner even more closely with America's booming space industry, grow the space economy, and ensure the future of exploration is built in the United States.

Born in Wisconsin, educated at California Institute of Technology and the University of Texas at Austin, Kshatriya is one of only about 100 people in history to serve as a mission control flight director. He brings unparalleled operational and strategic experience to NASA's executive leadership team.

posted 10-21-2025 04:58 PM               

Over the summer, Duffy told government officials he was interested in bringing NASA under the Transportation Department's purview, people briefed on the conversations said. "Sean said that NASA might benefit from being part of the Cabinet, maybe even within the Department of Transportation, but he's never said he wants to keep the job himself," a NASA spokeswoman said.

posted 10-21-2025 05:01 PM               

Sean is grateful that the President gave him the chance to lead NASA. At the President's direction, Sean has focused the agency on one clear goal — making sure America gets back to the Moon before China. Sean said that NASA might benefit from being part of the Cabinet, maybe even within the Department of Transportation, but he's never said he wants to keep the job himself. The President asked him to talk with potential candidates for Administrator, and he's been happy to help by vetting people and giving his honest feedback. The bottom line is that Secretary Duffy is here to serve the President, and he will support whomever the President nominates.

posted 10-22-2025 10:20 AM               

The President cannot cancel NASA contracts. The President can remove NASA's leadership and then direct the new leaders to do as s/he pleases, but even then Congress has to be involved.

posted 10-24-2025 06:50 AM               

One problem with this is that anything that is produced by a contractor has to work the first time, or risk being cancelled.

The Apollo Lunar Program was a Herculean achievement because it set a goal and a timeline, which the American industrial and technology sectors rose to the occasion to meet.

This appears to have been an aberration because no Administration since seems to be committed to signing up to another program planned to go beyond their administrative timeframe, and US politics likes to shut down programs instigated by former administrations and put forward their own ideas.

The Shuttle was another Herculean achievement, mired in political wranglings that required the Shuttle to be able to carry Air Force payloads and be able to divert to alternate landing sites, neither of which it was ever required to do, excluding Hubble (which was not a military satellite). I sometimes wonder why it took so long for someone to ask why we need to send astronauts to space to launch a satellite. The demise of the Shuttle resulted in the loss of capabilities that no program since could carry out, including Hubble servicing and satellite recovery.

Every NASA space launch system has come under criticism, which congress members have to consider to protect their positions, and sometimes results in project goals or timelines being moved, or projects being cancelled.

I was never a fan of the SLS program for a few reasons. I struggled to comprehend why a system would use the first-stage engines, touted as being the first reusable rocket engines, and toss them in the ocean every launch. Another was the SRBs, which were identified as dangerous for human-rated flights, partly responsible for the end of the STS program, and extended them with yet another joint.

If the SLS only took around 5 years to develop and bring into service, because it used existing parts, tooling, infrastructure, and workforce, it maybe could have been worth it, but because the program has never had a definitive goal and timeline, and has been a political volleyball by each administration since its inception, it seems shocking that it still exists.

If establishing a permanently inhabited outpost on the Moon requires using a disposable rocket that uses SRBs, instead of developing some type of reusable launch vehicle, then I fail to believe that any administration would sign up to producing SLS in enough quantities to carry out crew changes and have some type of standby rescue system set aside for emergencies.

posted 10-29-2025 10:28 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
The President cannot cancel NASA contracts. The President can remove NASA's leadership and then direct the new leaders to do as s/he pleases, but even then Congress has to be involved.

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posted 10-29-2025 12:01 PM               

For an example of the contrary (one more relevant to this site), when the President called for the cancellation of the Space Launch System, Orion and Gateway, Congress restored all three programs and authorized their funding (note: the actual appropriations still need to be passed).

The President could choose to veto, but if desired by enough of Congress, that too could be overturned.