Sabato to interview new NASA administrator at Tuesday virtual forum

(CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA) – NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will discuss the latest developments at the nation’s civilian space agency with UVA Center for Politics Director Larry J. Sabato at a virtual forum on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 4 p.m. eastern.

The conversation is free and open to the public and will be available at this link: https://livestream.com/tavco/billnelsoninterview

President Joe Biden nominated Nelson as NASA administrator earlier this year, and he was unanimously confirmed by the Senate. Nelson previously served for three terms as a Democrat in the U.S. Senate from 2001 to 2019, and he has served in public office for more than four decades. In 1986, he flew on the 24th flight of the space shuttle. The mission on Columbia orbited the earth 98 times over six days. Nelson conducted 12 medical experiments including the first American stress test in space and a cancer research experiment sponsored by university researchers.

Nelson chaired the Space Subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives for six years and later served as the Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, where he was recognized as the leading space program advocate in Congress.

He is an alumnus of the University of Virginia School of Law.