Jim Bridenstine
Bridenstine to meet with international partners on lunar plans at Paris Air Show
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine plans to meet with international counterparts in Paris this week to discuss cooperation on the agency’s Artemis lunar program, but says those discussions are still in their early stages.
Bridenstine estimates Artemis cost at $20–30 billion
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a television interview June 13 that it will cost the agency an additional $20 billion to $30 billion to return humans to the moon, the first range of costs given by the agency for the program.
NASA offers mixed messages on future budgets
While NASA’s administrator says the Artemis lunar program won’t come at the expense of other projects, others at the agency warn that internal cuts will likely be needed to afford a human lunar return by 2024.
Bridenstine says debate only beginning over funding 2024 return to the moon
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said the administration’s request to add $1.6 billion to the agency’s 2020 budget to start work on the Artemis lunar program was not “dead on arrival” despite a lack of action on it by House appropriators.
Bridenstine says $1.6 billion at “low end” of funding needed to keep 2024 lunar landing on schedule
A day after NASA unveiled an amended budget request to support a human landing on the moon in 2024, the agency’s leader warned that if Congress provided less than the request it increased the risk of missing that deadline.
Bridenstine plays down costs of 2024 moon landing
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told Senate appropriators May 1 that while the administration is not yet ready to release a revised budget that accommodates an accelerated human lunar landing program, the costs will not be as high as some rumors.
Scientists lobby NASA for additional planetary defense missions
Scientists used an appearance by the NASA administrator at a conference April 29 to press him to fund additional missions that support the agency’s work in discovering and characterizing near Earth objects.
Bridenstine outlines two-phase approach for accelerated lunar return
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said the agency’s approach to moving up a human lunar landing from 2028 to 2024 will focus first on speed and then on sustainability.
House committee presses Bridenstine for details on moon plan
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine faced criticism from some House members at an April 2 hearing who questioned the urgency of the administration’s plans to accelerate a human return to the moon and sought details about how much it will cost.
NASA warns Indian anti-satellite test increased debris risk to ISS
In the sharpest rebuke to date by a U.S. government official, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine criticized India’s recent anti-satellite test April 1, saying it created debris that posed a threat to the International Space Station.
Bridenstine says “nothing off the table” as NASA develops new lunar plan
Insisting that all options are under consideration, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said April 1 that he hopes to develop an initial plan within the next couple of weeks for getting astronauts to the surface of the moon by 2024.
NASA studying ways to accelerate development of SLS
A day after Vice President Mike Pence directed NASA to return humans to the surface of the moon by 2024, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told members of Congress that this goal was “very aggressive” and would require additional funding for the agency to achieve.
Bridenstine reiterates commitment to SLS
A day after announcing that NASA was studying the possibility of shifting an Orion mission from the Space Launch System rocket to commercial vehicles, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said he and the agency still support development of the SLS.
NASA considering flying Orion on commercial launch vehicles
NASA is considering moving the Orion spacecraft that was to fly on the first Space Launch System mission to a commercial rocket to keep that mission on schedule for mid-2020.
5G trumps weather in spectrum debate
Less than a week before a Federal Communications Commission auction of radio frequency spectrum for 5G, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai clearly expressed impatience with the weather community’s ongoing concerns about interference and requests to modify the U.S. government’s position.
NASA seeks to accelerate work on lunar missions
NASA is now emphasizing speed in its lunar exploration plans, including seeking to fly payloads on commercial lunar landers before the end of this year as it works with industry on lander concepts.
