In a forthcoming memoir, former US politician and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson offers a blistering assessment of China, saying the United States must do all it can to retain its leadership in space exploration. A former Congressman and Senator from Florida, Nelson served as a mission specialist on a space shuttle flight in 1986 and later as NASA administrator from May 2021 to January 2025 under President Biden. The book largely focuses on his space policy work in Congress and his tenure as NASA’s leader.
Nelson recounts how in early 2023, NASA assisted the US military when a Chinese spy balloon began traversing the United States. With its experience in using balloons to map the stratosphere and model atmospheric currents, NASA provided information on how to shoot the balloon down without endangering anyone on the ground. He argues that the balloon saga offered further affirmation that the United States was enmeshed in a high-stakes competition with China for the high ground.
Unlike his predecessor under a Democratic president—former astronaut Charlie Bolden, who served as NASA leader under President Obama—Nelson supported the Wolf Amendment, which strictly limits cooperation between NASA and China’s space program.
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