Buzz Aldrin Supports Obama's NASA Plan

When it comes to NASA, it's politics, politics, politics. Companies such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin are afraid of losing their government contracts, states are afraid of losing workers, politicians are afraid of not getting re-elected if they don't fight for space projects. No one thinks about what's good for the nation. What should the space program be accomplishing?
Then there's the politics of Obama's people coming in and changing the old ways of doing business, which causes flack. Some astronauts say Obama's plan is bad. Buzz Aldrin says it's good. For nearly two years, ever since Obama took office and Lori Garver took over the space transition program, NASA people have been complaining. Somewhere, there is a truth. Obama will be talking about NASA's future tomorrow at 2:50 pm eastern. Here is a fact sheet of Obama's NASA plan. Aldrin's statement via Politico:

“As an Apollo astronaut, I know full well the importance of always exploring new frontiers and tackling new challenges as we explore space. The simple truth is that we have already been to the Moon – some 40 years ago. What this nation needs in order to maintain its position as the 21st century leader in space exploration is a near-term focus on lowering the cost of access to space and on developing key, cutting-edge technologies that will take us further and faster – while expanding our opportunities for exploration along the way. The President’s program will help us be in this endeavor for the long haul and will allow us to again push our boundaries to achieve new and challenging things beyond Earth. I believe that this is the right program at the right time, and I hope that NASA and our dedicated space community will embrace this new direction as much as I do. By so doing we can together continue to use space exploration to help drive prosperity and innovation right here on Earth.

“I also believe the steps we will be taking in following the President’s direction will best position NASA and other space agencies to ultimately send humans to Mars and other exciting destinations as quickly as possible. To do that, we will need to support many types of transformative technologies that NASA and its partners will be developing in order to reduce the costs, expand the capabilities, and increase the options for exploration. The quick decision promised on a heavy lift architecture – one that can leverage the knowledge gained through our propulsion and flagship R&D efforts – is a key part of this new plan and one that will help us achieve these ambitions in an expeditious yet still careful way. I also believe that the decision to pursue a crew escape capsule for the Space Station (in a way that takes advantage of work already performed on Orion) is a laudable step that will both make prudent use of our hard-earned expertise and provide a U.S. capability for meeting this important safety requirement.

“Finally, I continue to be excited about the development of commercial capabilities to send humans into low earth orbit and what this could ultimately mean in terms of allowing others to experience the transformative power of spaceflight. I can personally attest to what such an experience can do in creating a different perspective regarding our life on Earth and on our future. I applaud the President for his boldness and commitment in working to make this worthwhile dream a reality.

“Buzz Aldrin
April 14, 2010”

NASA's Lori Garver Explains Cancellation of Constellation in Speech

Lori Garver, not well liked by the old guard at NASA, gave a speech March 4 at the Women in Aerospace breakfast. Here's an excerpt:

The simple fact is that we inherited a system that no longer made sense to continue.
Without increasing NASA’s budget significantly (more than the $3B in the Augustine
report – which would not in fact have covered extending Constellation), we couldn’t
afford the Constellation systems and also do those critical activities supported by nearly
everyone in this budget. Flying out the Shuttle safely, extending the life of the ISS and
fully utilizing that $100B research lab, increasing aeronautics and Earth Sciences,
investing in technology development…

You can also think of if this way – for those of you focused on working to get
Constellation back in the budget for 2011 (and I harbor no ill-will against those of you
working to do that – I believe in this Democracy – I love our system of government,
have studied it, and it is the reason I moved to Washington, DC the day I graduated
from College – to work for Senator John Glenn who was running for President) – so I
get it – it is our rights as citizens to work with our elected officials to make our views
known.

So – if Constellation is put back in the budget – (without a $3-5B increase in NASA’s
top-line) – that much money would have to be cut from the proposed budget – meaning
no extension of the ISS (so when Ares/Orion launches for the first time in 2017 – there
will be no where for it to go --- for about 10 years, until the Ares V is developed (since
the funding for Ares V didn’t begin in any serious way until 2016 – it needed the funding
from driving the ISS into the Pacific…) No flying out the Shuttle safetly – the $600M
budgeted in ’11 would be needed for Constellation – so perhaps Shuttle would be
retired without the last flight or two – no AMS? No OCO reflight, or climate and earth
science missions would be flown for another 5 years, possibly leaving us with large data
gaps about our planet’s health and no investment in technology development that
contribute to a growing economic base.

If Constellation is terminated, as proposed, we will build on its legacy, using what makes
sense in the new plans. Read the whole speech

Garver discusses Constellation on This Week in Space. Garver says NASA has been trying to relive Apollo, but the politics --and the budget-- of now are different than then. There is no competition to get to space between the U.S. and Russia:

White House Astronomy Night Video

The "stars" in the house: science administrator John Holdren, Buzz Aldrin, NASA administrator Charles Bolden and his assistant Lori Garver, Sally Ride, Mae Jeminson, the first black female astronaut, and John Grunsfeld, the Hubble repairman. Obama looks at a "double double" star 160 light years away:

Astronaut Sally Ride answers questions:

Obama Meets With Apollo 11 Crew Video

Obama says he wants to make math and science cool again:

Obama Names Charles Bolden NASA Administrator

UPDATE JULY 16: Bolden and Garver confirmed.
Obama also named Lori Garver, as the deputy administrator nominee. Garver had been on Obama's space transition team, checking out the agency and it's waste. During a call to Atlantis on Wednesday (if you didn't hear that call, listen here), Obama told the crew he was going to be announcing an administrator soon.
Bolden has had a few backers, namely Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida:

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, the Florida Democrat who flew with Bolden on a 1986 shuttle mission, was one of the former astronaut's biggest backers.

Nelson described Bolden as the right pick to take on the hurdles facing NASA, particularly budget restrictions and the impending retirement of the shuttle.

"Charlie is the kind of dynamic leader I believe the president was looking for and I know he'll meet these challenges head on," he said.

U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach, called the nomination "a positive sign for the future of our human spaceflight program."

"Gen. Bolden's background has given him the relevant management and technical experience to address the great challenges facing NASA today," said Kosmas, whose district includes Kennedy Space Center. "General Bolden is eminently qualified to accomplish this important mission." Florida Today

Watch Bolden's challenges here. Read more about Bolden and Garver here.
Bolden and Garver's bio:

Gen. Charles Bolden, Nominee for Administrator of NASA
Charles Bolden retired from the United States Marine Corps in 2003 as the Commanding General of the Third Marine Aircraft Wing after serving more than 34 years, and is currently CEO of JackandPanther LLC, a privately-held military and aerospace consulting firm. Gen. Bolden began his service in U.S. Marine Corps in 1968. He flew more than 100 sorties in Vietnam from 1972-73. In 1980, he was selected as an astronaut by NASA, flying two space shuttle missions as pilot and two missions as commander. Following the Challenger accident in 1986, Gen. Bolden was named the Chief of the Safety Division at the Johnson Space Center with responsibilities for overseeing the safety efforts in the return-to-flight efforts. He was appointed Assistant Deputy Administrator of NASA headquarters in 1992. He was Senior Vice President at TechTrans International, Inc. from 2003 until 2005. Gen. Bolden holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis and a M.S. in Systems Management from the University of Southern California.

Lori Garver, Nominee for Deputy Administrator of NASA
Lori Garver is the President of Capital Space, LLC, and has served as Senior Advisor for Space at the Avascent Group, a strategy and management consulting firm, based in Washington, D.C. She was the lead civil space policy advisor for Obama for America, and she helped lead the Agency Review Team for NASA during the Transition. She has intimate familiarity with the agency and knows well the challenges it faces. From 1998 to 2001, Ms. Garver served as NASA’s Associate Administrator of the Office of Policy and Plans. Reporting to the NASA Administrator, she oversaw the analysis, development, and integration of NASA policies and long-range plans, the NASA Strategic Management System, and the NASA Advisory Council. Ms. Garver also served as a primary spokesperson for NASA. Prior to this appointment, she served as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Office of Policy and Plans, and Special Assistant to the Administrator. Ms. Garver earned an M.S. in Science, Technology, and Public Policy from the George Washington University and a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Colorado College.

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Charles Bolden Could be Next NASA Administrator

Update 5-18: Because Obama's meeting with Netanyahu ran long (and this could only be a good thing) Obama will meet with Bolden May 19, according to Gibbs. 

Charles Bolden has long been rumored to be the next possible NASA administrator. The Obama administration didn't seem too pleased with current administrator, Mike Griffin. Read more about Bolden here. Then Scott Gration was said to be the next NASA administrator but Obama chose Gration to be the Sudan envoy. But now, it's looking like Bolden will get the job. He's meeting with Obama on Monday.

It looks like Bill Nelson may finally get his man.

For months, the Florida senator has been an ardent advocate of retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden, a four-time shuttle astronaut, to be the next NASA administrator. Bolden, who would be the first African American to lead the civilian space agency, is now an aerospace consultant and is popular in the space community.

Nelson has been a Bolden fan since Bolden piloted the shuttle with Nelson aboard in 1986. But to Nelson's great frustration, the job has remained vacant. Twice, the White House floated the names of other candidates for the NASA post -- first Scott Gration, then Steve Isakowitz -- only to back down when congressional leaders balked.

Now, however, Bolden is expected to meet with President Obama at the White House on Monday. The meeting, first reported by NBC, suggests that Bolden has passed the major vetting tests and now merely has to make Obama comfortable with the selection. Read more at WaPo

Obama Considering Rocket Collaboration

Collaborations on rocket projects between the Defense Department and NASA could save big money, but NASA isn't happy.

Bloomberg: Obama’s transition team is considering a collaboration between the Defense Department and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration because military rockets may be cheaper and ready sooner than the space agency’s planned launch vehicle, which isn’t slated to fly until 2015, according to people who’ve discussed the idea with the Obama team.
The potential change comes as Pentagon concerns are rising over China’s space ambitions because of what is perceived as an eventual threat to U.S. defense satellites, the lofty battlefield eyes of the military.
“The Obama administration will have all those issues on the table,” said Neal Lane, who served as President Bill Clinton’s science adviser and wrote recently that Obama must make early decisions critical to retaining U.S. space dominance. “The foreign affairs and national security implications have to be considered.”

NASA isn't too happy about this, which might be why NASA's Mike Griffin and Obama's Lori Garver have had some unpleasant exchanges.

The Obama team has asked NASA officials about the costs and savings of scrapping the agency’s new Ares I rocket, which is being developed by Chicago-based Boeing Co. and Minneapolis- based Alliant Techsystems Inc.
NASA chief Michael Griffin opposes the idea and told Obama’s transition team leader, Lori Garver, that her colleagues lack the engineering background to evaluate rocket options, agency spokesman Chris Shank said.
“The NASA review team is just asking questions; no decisions have been made,” said Nick Shapiro, a transition spokesman for Obama. The team will pass its finding on to presidential appointees, said Shapiro.
At the Pentagon, there may be support for combining launch vehicles. While NASA hasn’t recently approached the Pentagon about using its Delta IV and Atlas V rockets, building them for manned missions could allow for cost sharing, said Steven Huybrechts, the director of space programs and policy in the office of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is staying on into the new administration. There's so much more. 

NASA Chief's Wife Petitions for Husband's Job

NASA chief Mike Griffin and Lori Garver, who heads heads Obama's space policy transition team, have butted heads. Garver has been analyzing the effectiveness of the agency. Griffin, by the way, doesn't believe in global warming. You can read about all of that here.
Now, Griffin's wife Rebecca Griffin is petitioning for his job (here's the petition). How odd.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Late on Christmas Eve, one last wish was sent, by e-mail: Please let NASA Administrator Michael Griffin keep his job. It was from his wife.

Rebecca Griffin, who works in marketing, sent her message with the subject line "Campaign for Mike" to friends and family. It asked them to sign an online petition to President-elect Barack Obama "to consider keeping Mike Griffin on as NASA Administrator."

She wrote, "Yes, once again I am embarrassing my husband by reaching out to our friends and 'imposing' on them.... And if this is inappropriate, I'm sorry."
The petition drive, which said the President George W. Bush appointee "has brought a sense of order and purpose to the U.S. space agency," was organized by Scott "Doc" Horowitz of Park City, Utah, an ex-astronaut and former NASA associate administrator.
A cash-strapped NASA last week also sent — by priority mail costing $6.75 a package — copies of a new NASA book called "Leadership in Space: Selected Speeches of NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, May 2005-October 2008."

And just before the presidential election, Griffin sent a letter to Obama saying, "I am deeply grateful to you, personally, for your leadership" on the vote to allow NASA to use Russian spaceships.

Efforts by those close to Griffin lobbying on his behalf are unusually bold, even for ego-heavy Washington. Past efforts on behalf of job hopefuls have been more behind-the-scenes so plausible deniability can be maintained.

Here's part of what the online petition says:

Petition in Support of keeping Mike Griffin as the NASA Administrator

Dr. Michael Griffin is one of the most technically and managerially competent administrators in NASA’s history. He has brought a sense of order and purpose to the U.S. space agency, guiding decisions in all programs with the firm belief that our strength as a world power is determined in a large part by our preeminence in space, particularly in human spaceflight. Dr. Griffin has guided the Constellation Program--the goal of which is to return the United States to the moon, and then explore Mars and beyond--out of the conceptual phase and into the factory, with contracts for all of the major elements, despite severe budgetary limitations. In the process he has helped NASA regain the respect of the Congress. Mike Griffin--a true rocket scientist and systems engineer and gifted administrator--is uniquely qualified to take NASA into the next era of space exploration. The undersigned hereby petition the new administration in the White House to retain the services of Dr. Griffin, holding the firm conviction that he is the best hope for the NASA’s future and for the future of U.S. leadership in space.

Background

On April 14, 2005 Dr. Michael Griffin became the 11th administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Mike Griffin is widely considered to be the most capable Administrator since the Apollo era. He has instituted substantial changes at NASA and is rebuilding capabilities that have atrophied and eroded since the days of Apollo and Space Shuttle development (it has been over 30 years since NASA or industry has developed a human rated spacecraft). It has been argued that the NASA administrator need not have the skills of a chief engineer or rocket scientist, but during this critical phase of developing the future of U.S. space flight, there is no more essential skill set this leader should possess. Mike Griffin is a leader of the highest integrity, with the knowledge and intellect to understand the most complex technical, programmatic, and organizational issues and to train and guide a new generation of technical leaders to make the right decisions. Under his direction NASA has made more progress in restoring America’s spaceflight design and development capabilities in the last 3 years than was accomplished in the prior three decades. 

One congressman, Bart Gordon, wants Griffin to stay on:

Michael Griffin should continue as NASA administrator, at least until President-elect Barack Obama sorts out his space policy agenda, the chairman of a key House authorizing committee said Dec. 18.

"I have recommended that, at a minimum, he be kept during the transition period," House Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) said, adding that he was also recommending that Griffin "be considered" to be kept on beyond that.

Gordon, whose committee oversees NASA, said the final verdict on Griffin is "something for the next administration. It's their decision."

Gordon praised Griffin during a Capitol Hill press briefing on the panel's agenda for the 111th Congress, which convenes next month.

"I've been pleased with the working relationship with Dr. Griffin," Gordon said, adding that the often blunt Griffin "understands what he's doing, in contrast to previous administrations."

NASA's Griffin and Obama's Lori Garver's Unpleasant Exchanges

Update July 16: Senate confirms both Bolden and Garver

See the update on this: Mike Griffin's wife Rebecca petitions for his job.

Lori Garver was a former Associate Administrator of the Office of Policy and Plans for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Garver heads Obama's space policy transition team. Mike Griffin is the NASA administrator. Griffin is not sure that global warming is something we should be wrestling with. Ha! This is a science guy? Now we pretty much know who he is. Guess who's going to be looking for work soon.

This comes by way of Science Friday.

Orlando Sentinel: CAPE CANAVERAL – NASA administrator Mike Griffin is not cooperating with President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team, is obstructing its efforts to get information and has told its leader that she is “not qualified” to judge his rocket program, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.

In a heated 40-minute conversation last week with Lori Garver, a former NASA associate administrator who heads the space transition team, a red-faced Griffin demanded to speak directly to Obama, according to witnesses.

In addition, Griffin is scripting NASA employees and civilian contractors on what they can tell the transition team and has warned aerospace executives not to criticize the agency’s moon program, sources said.

Griffin’s resistance is part of a no-holds-barred effort to preserve the Constellation program, the delayed and over-budget moon rocket that is his signature project.

Chris Shank, NASA’s Chief of Strategic Communications, denied that Griffin is trying to keep information from the team, or that he is seeking a meeting with Obama. He also insisted that Griffin never argued with Garver.

“We are working extremely well with the transition team,” he said.

However, Shank acknowledged Griffin was concerned that the six-member team – all with space policy backgrounds – lack the engineering expertise to properly assess some of the information they have been given.

This could be a case of the good ol' boys being challenged. Read a memo to Garver outlining recommendations on a "revitalized NASA" (read: more money please).

Garver refused comment about her conversation with Griffin -- and his remark that she is “not qualified” -- during a book-publication party at NASA headquarters last week. Obama’s Chicago office – which has sent similar transition teams to every federal agency – also had no comment.

People close to Garver, however, say that she has confirmed “unpleasant” exchanges with Griffin and other NASA officials. “Don’t worry, they have not beaten me down yet,” she e-mailed a colleague.

And this week, Garver told a meeting of aerospace representatives in Washington that “there will be change” to NASA policy and hinted that Obama would name a new administrator soon, according to participants.

NASA could be worried about their bloated budget being popped:

Garver’s team is one of dozens of review panels that over the last few weeks have descended on every government agency. Armed with tough questions, they are scrutinizing programs, scouring budgets and hunting for problems that may confront a new president.