rssWhat’s Up With NASA?
Thursday, December 11, 2008 at 10:32 am
- 9 Comments
The Orlando Sentinel has a really incredible story this morning about intransigence at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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.
According to The Sentinel, the problems began when representatives of the transition descended on NASA, as they have at all federal agencies, to take stock of what is going on. When the transition members asked how much money could be saved by scrapping the Constellation project, which is a central part of President George W. Bush’s plan to send astronauts back to the moon by 2020, Griffin apparently took that as a cue for resistance, according to the article.
The Sentinel paints a picture of NASA top brass that is reminiscent of an extremely authoritarian regime. Interviews conducted by transition officials with NASA employees are monitored by NASA officials “taking copious notes,” and Griffin demanded contractors clear in advance any information given to the transition. The article concludes with this remarkable anecdote:
Tensions were on public display last week at the NASA library, as overheard by guests at a book party.
According to people who were present, Logsdon, a space historian, told a group of about 50 people he had just learned that President John F. Kennedy’s transition team had completely ignored NASA.
Griffin responded, in a loud voice, “I wish the Obama team would come and talk to me.”
Alan Ladwig, a transition team member who was at the party with Garver, shouted out: “Well, we’re here now, Mike.”
Soon after, Garver and Griffin engaged in what witnesses said was an animated conversation. Some overheard parts of it.
“Mike, I don’t understand what the problem is. We are just trying to look under the hood,” Garver said.
“If you are looking under the hood, then you are calling me a liar,” Griffin replied. “Because it means you don’t trust what I say is under the hood.”
Hmmmm…It sounds like NASA may be an obvious place for Peter Orszag, Obama’s designee to head the Office of Management and Budget, to look for multi-billion dollar boondoggles to trim from the federal budget.
(Via Ben Smith)
9 Comments
Comment posted December 11, 2008 @ 1:15 pm
NASA could make itself more relevant to the nation by conducting, as part of its mission, a major program focused on alternative energy research and development. This would supplement a broader national initiative, and would foster the growth of a high-tech economy and green industry in the Nation. The initiative is not a part of NASA’s mission now, but with proper Presidential support, it could be presented to the American People as an innovative way of meeting the nation’s challenge to transition to sustainable energy independence over the next decade. Most importantly with the proper support, it could serve as a wellspring for innovation in alternative energy and the creation of new jobs.
Establishment of this initiative would entail President Obama directing NASA, as part of a multi-agency national effort, to dedicate a significant portion of its annual budget and personnel resources to the development of alternative energy technologies. By directing the Agency that took America to the Moon to solve, as it did during the Apollo era, the most pressing technological challenge facing the modern era, such a decision would send a visible message to the American people that the new Administration is serious about addressing the energy problem. This would resonate more strongly than merely increasing the budget of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) current renewable energy programs. In addition, NASA has developed extraordinary technologies and expertise over the last 30 years that could greatly contribute to the U.S.’s achieving sustainable energy independence.
Implementing this initiative would entail NASA directing up to $2-3 billion of its annual budget to support a broad portfolio of projects, ranging from concept studies and fundamental research efforts, to proof-of-concept experiments and commercial prototype demonstrations. Although the Initiative would fund R&D work at NASA Centers, almost all of the resources would be disseminated outside the agency through NASA Research Announcements, contracts, grants, cooperative agreements and competitive awards. These would support work at universities, national research institutes, small businesses and large industrial firms.
Comment posted December 12, 2008 @ 4:21 am
The NASA Administrator is a pinhead.
He not loyal to those who work for him or those he works for, except himself.
Cowing says it all:
Other criticisms are that Griffin wants “to do things only his way,” Cowing said. “The problem with him is that he wants to be both the NASA administrator, its chief scientist and its chief engineer, and that's just not possible.
If you check his career you will find that he has never accomplished anything (except degrees of course). He is always spending all of his time trying to get his next job and telling everyone that he is smart. One unfinished job after another does not make one proficient in any one of the above three positions.
Regards
Comment posted December 12, 2008 @ 5:14 am
Some Historian! Just remembered. NASA was a President Kennedy invention. It did not exist in its present high profile form at that time. NACA did, as an obscure sub agency studying laminar flow wing profiles. All of these guys are just talking heads.
Comment posted December 12, 2008 @ 5:17 am
Some Historian! Just remembered. NASA was a President Kennedy invention. It did not exist in its present high profile form at that time. NACA did, as an obscure sub agency studying laminar flow wing profiles. All of these guys are just talking heads.
Comment posted December 27, 2008 @ 6:27 am
They need to revive CFR-1275, “Investigation of Research Misconduct”. This was the Federal Register filing placed into the record in October of 2003 just before the second Bush Administration was sworn in. When they realized that Bush “their friend and a manipulated DoJ ” would be in place they decided to abandon their efforts to hold University scientists accountable for scientific misconduct and fraud. Obama needs to force the Administrator to carry out the law.
http://www.bccmeteorites.com/misconduct-planeta…
Comment posted December 27, 2008 @ 2:27 pm
They need to revive CFR-1275, “Investigation of Research Misconduct”. This was the Federal Register filing placed into the record in October of 2003 just before the second Bush Administration was sworn in. When they realized that Bush “their friend and a manipulated DoJ ” would be in place they decided to abandon their efforts to hold University scientists accountable for scientific misconduct and fraud. Obama needs to force the Administrator to carry out the law.
http://www.bccmeteorites.com/misconduct-planeta…
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