NASA Plays well with private property SpaceX, but is this something to worry about? In an interview with NPR, NASA Director Bill Nelson dispels any fears of unguarded action Elon Musk We run a space agency by remembering this SpaceX is actually run by its president, Gwynne Shotwell. Nelson trusts Shotwell to protect SpaceX from this Elon Musk often irrational fever dreams, and thus also to protect the billions of American taxpayer dollars awarded to SpaceX in government contracts from its wayward spending.
Nelson, a former senator from Florida, was reportedly very open about his distrust musk before taking on the role of NASA director. According to former NASA Book by Assistant Director Lori Garver, Escaping Gravity: My Goal to Transform NASA and Usher in a New Space AgeGarver says Nelson “led the opposition” to SpaceX when he was still a senator. His resistance was primarily directed against Musks eccentric ways and volatile behavior as the leader of a company that could potentially have global impact. Accordingly futurism,
“Elon Musk’s decision-making has come under a lot of scrutiny in recent years with regards to some of his other companies, Twitter and Tesla,” asked interviewer Scott Detrow. “Are you concerned that so much of this plan is in the hands of Elon Musk at this point?”
“Elon Musk…one of the most important decisions he made was actually choosing a president named Gwynne Shotwell,” Nelson countered. “She runs SpaceX. She is excellent. So I have no concerns.”
This isn’t the first time the NASA director and former Florida senator has expressed similar sentiments.
A few months after Musk bought Twitter – although before he disastrously renamed it “X” – in late 2022, Nelson tells NBC News He was relieved when he discussed the acquisition with the SpaceX president.
“Tell me that whatever distraction Elon might have on Twitter won’t affect SpaceX,” Nelson recalled to Shotwell.
In response, she apparently told him that it had caused no harm to the space company and that he had “no reason to worry.”
“I hugged her with a smile on my face because I know she’s running this thing,” the NASA director continued. “She runs SpaceX.”
Shotwell currently manages all operations of SpaceX. She was one SpaceX Employee since 2002 and previously Director of Space Systems at Microcosm, a spacecraft developer. It was her turn Fortune Magazine List of the 50 Greatest Leaders in the World in 2018 and Forbes‘ Power Women list in 2017 and has received medals and awards for her achievements in the world of aviation. To know that a woman with so much intelligence and fortitude is at the top SpaceX brings some comfort and serenity to Nelson and many other people (including this author).