Charles F. BoldenJr., Your Turn Published 1:26 p.m. ET Oct. 6, 2020

During my years at NASA, first as an astronaut followed by my appointment as NASA administrator in 2009, a fundamental principle upon which all programs were operated was constancy of purpose. Coined by Vice Adm. Joe Dyer, chairman of the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel during my tenure as NASA administrator, this concept recognized that, to be successful, our efforts must be consistently funded, managed, and carried out over long spans of time.

NASA programs unfold over years, from Apollo, to the space shuttle, Hubble Telescope, and the International Space Station. The same will be true of the development and implementation of the Space Launch System, Orion crew capsule and the hoped-for Gateway that will orbit around the moon. These are multi-year, multi-administration projects that will need constancy of purpose to be successful.

Constancy of purpose also has an important place in my life as a father, grandfather, husband and citizen.

Our Constitution is the original example of constancy of purpose for the United States. It is the foundational document providing the underpinning of our society over hundreds of years. It is a living document that changes when it needs to adapt to give us guidance to us as a nation. Adapting that document to fit our current needs requires steady leadership and integrity that we do not see in our current administration.

Holmdel, NJ- 05/18/11- The 78th annual commencement of Monmouth University takes place at PNC Bank Arts Center on Wednesday, May 18, 2011. Commencement speaker, the Honorable Charles F. Bolden Jr., Administrator of NASA; Astronaut, addresses the crowd.DOUG HOOD/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER(Photo: DOUG HOOD/ASBURY PARK PRESS)

Constancy of purpose has been attacked across our society over the past four years.

The Affordable Care Act has provided critical health care coverage for more than 20 million Americans but is under attack with nothing proposed to take its place.

Our local governments have been forced to manage the worst worldwide pandemic in a century without guidance from the federal government the entity capable of effectively dealing with such an emergency.

Science is under attack on a daily basis from the very individuals who should be supporting the advancement of understanding.

Internationally, our nation, which President Reagan called the shining city on the hill, is no longer looked to for leadership in issues that cross the globe.

It is for these reasons that I joined almost 500 former public servants in signing a public letter endorsing Joe Biden to be the next president of the United States.

Along with my colleagues, I believe that Biden is, above all, a good man with a strong sense of right and wrong. He is guided by principles that have long made America great: democracy is a hard-won fight we must defend and support at home and abroad; Americas power and influence stem as much from her moral authority as it does from her economic and political power. Biden understands that.

Biden is compassionate, empathetic, and grounded in the utmost integrity. He has a love of people, the ability to listen, and the human capacity to care for and offer counsel when it is really needed. These are marks of the strong leader we need today.

Critical organizations such as NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the State Department need leadership that shares these values and uses constancy of purpose to carry out their missions. Biden understands that and will lead us back to President Reagans shining city on the hill.

Maj. Gen.Charles F. BoldenJr. is a retired Marine officer, astronaut, and former NASA administrator.

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Former NASA administrator: Biden will reestablish 'constancy of purpose' in space and nation | Opinion - Florida Today