Space dot com is a NASA website that reports on the latest news in such topics as astronomy, satellites, and space travel.  It has even reported on news of UFO/UAP phenomena.  Its articles and commentary are well written and informative.  They contribute to NASA's reputation as an objective, science-oriented, and nonpartisan agency.   

One would think that NASA would value that reputation and make its protection a high priority.  If NASA, through its website, were to allow itself to become yet another propaganda arm of the Democrat party, as have many other federal agencies, then about half of the public would likely cease to place any trust in its taxpayer-funded programs.  NASA's goodwill is worth literally billions of dollars.

It is somewhat of a mystery, then, that on at least two occasions, NASA has published clearly partisan pieces at Space dot com.  Sadly, we have all gotten too accustomed to the fact that the bureaucracy is left-leaning at best, and oftentimes worse than that.  Such is apparently the case with NASA, and the shame of it is that the screeds that NASA publishes are gratuitous.  They not only do nothing to advance NASA's programs, but also undermine confidence in its political independence.  

One example of this occurred in 2021, shortly after Joe Biden occupied the Oval Office.  An article applauded Biden's support of the newly established Space Force, which came into being under President Trump.  So far, so good.  But press representative Jen Psaki flubbed news media questions about this.  She beclowned herself with frequent uses of the phrase "I'll circle back to you" to mask her ignorance.  NASA apparently felt the urge to make lame excuses for her:  

It shouldn't come as a huge surprise that Psaki didn't have a wealth of Space Force information and ideas immediately to hand [sic] yesterday. The Biden administration is dealing with a number of pressing issues as it gets up and running, especially the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, so space issues likely aren't a big priority at the moment.

Making wordy excuses for the press rep's lack of knowledge by citing "a number of pressing issues" was disingenuous at best.  All administrations have serious "pressing issues."  Even supporters of the new administration had ridiculed Psaki's distinct lack of preparedness.  It was no secret.

It would have been more forthright for NASA simply to say nothing at all about the press rep, or, at most, to say something like "Psaki didn't have the Space Force information at the time of the press conference."  That would have been unbiased and neutral.  It would not have sounded patronizing.  NASA need not have gone out of its way to insert irrelevant comments that, at risk of repetition, did nothing to advance NASA's space-related mission.

A few days ago, NASA not only repeated its mistake, but made it more obvious than before that it has no awareness of its bias.  The headline was "NASA confident in SpaceX after raucous Twitter takeover by Elon Musk."

The word "raucous" is the first hint of what the article is really about.  "Controversial" would have been more neutral, but the author seems to have had no inclination toward neutrality.

A brief snippet from the article follows:  

Musk, who was Time Magazine's 2021 person of the year, was in recent months accused of sexual misconduct with a flight attendant in 2016; his behavior of "distraction and embarrassment" was also the subject of an open letter by numerous anonymous employees of SpaceX.

Note the phrase "numerous anonymous employees."  

A few lines later, NASA gets to what is apparently its main point, from which it could not have been deterred, however convoluted the path to it.  

Musk also reinstituted numerous controversial Twitter accounts, including the Twitter account of President Donald Trump. Trump had been banned from the platform after playing a crucial role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on Capitol Hill; Trump had falsely declared the federal election results were counterfeit and asked the U.S. people to take action on that.

NASA reports on this as if its version were undisputed and factual.  No matter — the author was, by whatever excuse she needed, going to insert partisan smears against Donald Trump, however irrelevant they were to the core message, that message being that SpaceX would not be distracted from its NASA mission.

NASA is doing what the article said it fears from Elon Musk: being distracted by political considerations.

Image via Pxhere.