Standards, Wayne Hale

“Much of the time NASA appears to be a loose confederation of 10 quasi independent fiefdoms, each pretty much in charge of their own business.  People often ask me what would I do if I were king of NASA for a day.  They expect me to say something like:  build this rocket, launch that satellite.  Rather I think how I would standardize the procurement processes, or the human resources procedures, or the engineering standards used across the agency.  But then I always was a dreamer, tilting at impossible windmills.  Launching rockets is easy; getting engineers to agree on standards is hard.”

White House Photo of the Day, 3 Nov 2011

“Janet Kavandi, Director of Flight Crew Operations at Johnson Space Center, presents President Obama with a jacket during a drop by with the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis in the Oval Office, Nov. 1, 2011. The jacket features patches from several past space shuttle missions. Pictured in the background, from left, are: Pilot Doug Hurley, Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus, Commander Chris Ferguson and Mission Specialist Rex Walheim. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)”

Pres. Obama talks NASA’s future with Dave Ward, KTRK

“What we’ve said with NASA is that we need to re-tool, to take that next big leap forward in space. The shuttle program had a wonderful run but the truth of the matter is that the next phase, including the Orion project, was way behind schedule and didn’t seem to be meeting its budget objectives,” President Obama said. “So what we’ve done is to try to say let’s take a step back, let’s figure out how do we re-tool.”

‘We’ve got to do more’, MyFox, Tampa

“We are, for example, working with NASA and the private sector to bring additional jobs to central Florida. Boeing just made an announcement that we’re very happy about.”

NASA Space Technology Research Fellowships – Fall 2012 Fellowship Grant

“Point of Contact

Name: Claudia M Meyer
Title: NASA Space Technology Research Grants Program Exec
Phone: 000-000-0000
Fax: 000-000-0000
Email: hq-nstrf-call@mail.nasa.gov”

Keith’s note: Where is area code 000? You can “contact” Claudia Meyer at GRC (no mention of GRC in the NASA HQ procurement notice) at 216.977.7511 or at claudia.m.meyer@nasa.gov (via people.nasa.gov)

Opportunity and Risk Ahead for Canada’s Space Industry, SpaceRef Canada

“Maclean noted that Canada had signed two major treaties recently. The first in 2009 with United States and most recently a 10 year extension with the European Space Agency. He also mentioned that the Canadian Space Agency very recently got cabinet approval to go ahead and negotiate a treaty with Russia and that it should be signed shortly. This will facilitate Canadian industry access to Russia. He also said that Canada has begun talks about a treaty with China and hopes in the future to sign an agreement. No timetable for a signed treaty has been released though.”

White House Responds to Petition: Searching for ET, But No Evidence Yet, OSTP

“Thank you for signing the petition asking the Obama Administration to acknowledge an extraterrestrial presence here on Earth. The U.S. government has no evidence that any life exists outside our planet, or that an extraterrestrial presence has contacted or engaged any member of the human race. In addition, there is no credible information to suggest that any evidence is being hidden from the public’s eye. However, that doesn’t mean the subject of life outside our planet isn’t being discussed or explored. In fact, there are a number of projects working toward the goal of understanding if life can or does exist off Earth. Here are a few examples:”

Propellant Depots Instead of Heavy Lift?, opinion, By Michael D. Griffin and Scott Pace, Space News

“The most reasonable claim made in support of fuel depots is that if they are employed to the exclusion of a heavy lifter, one saves the cost of building the heavy lifter. This is certainly true — but then we do not have a heavy lifter!”

Keith’s note: Hilarious. Griffin and Pace cannot see through their own tired, myopic, Apollo on Steroids rhetoric. If you save the cost of building a heavy lifter then you SAVE MONEY. Get it? you SAVE MONEY. You can can use that money that you were going to spend on monster rockets to buy EXISTING ROCKETS to create the fuel depot and other aspects of a cislunar infrastructure. You then utilize that same existing commercial launch capability to accomplish what you only thought possible with the heavy lift behemoths you seem so chronically addicted to. The only reason NASA is building SLS right now is because Congress i.e. the space states misses your Ares V and all the jobs it created/saved. They do not seem to care if there is no money provided for payloads to fly on these rockets. This is certainly not about efficiency.

Alexander Saltman Selected As Executive Director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation

“The Federation has selected Dr. Alexander Saltman as the organization’s Executive Director. Saltman is a physicist who has most recently served as the Legislative Director for Congressman Adam Schiff of California. … Separately, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation is currently conducting an executive search for a new President to replace Rear Admiral Craig Steidle, who stepped down earlier this fall for medical reasons.”

NASA Still Studying Space-Based Fuel Depots, Aviation Week

“Michael Gazarik, NASA’s space technology program director, says that CPST and the Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket currently under development are complementary technologies. “To explore deep space we need a heavy-lift vehicle — SLS — and we need this technology. We need to be able to demonstrate how to handle cryogenic fluids in space.” The CPST project is being led by NASA’s Office of the Chief Technologist, which was set up by the Obama administration to develop technologies that will be needed regardless of the final exploration architectures the U.S. space community hammers out. The depot-demonstration mission will serve any of them, Gazarik says.”

- Update on NASA’s Hidden Fuel Depot Studies
- NASA Studies Show Cheaper Alternatives to SLS, earlier post
- Fuel Depots and Congress, earlier post
- In-Space Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer Demonstration Mission Concept Studies, 2011, NASA GRC, earlier post
- Using Commercial Launchers and Fuel Depots Instead of HLVs, earlier post
- The HLV Cost Information NASA Decided Not To Give To Congress, earlier post

Photo: JAXA Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa Backlit Only By Earthshine

“Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, Expedition 29 flight engineer, holds a still camera while looking through a window in the Cupola of the International Space Station Space Station.”

Keith’s note: As you can see from this screen shot from the hearing’s webcast (shown only on NASA TV) as John Holdren and Charlie Bolden were testifying, that virtually no one other than Rep. Rohrabacher, ranking member Rep. Carnahan, and their staffs even bothered to show up for this hearing. A few selected tweets:

- Rohrabacher: DOJ says that WH can do whatever it wants in terms of diplomacy. My colleagues and I will fight this overreach.
- Rep. Carnahan: I have a different view on how we can engage with China and push ahead with reforms.
- Rep. Wolf “NASA wants to work with the PLA who is killing people for their organs”
- Rep. Wolf is now showing posters and shouting.
- It is now clear why Rep. Wolf needed his own panel – he is taking up the time that 3 witnesses would normally take
- Rep. Wolf is showing more posters and shouting about China blocking UN missions
- Bolden: my predecessor travelled to China to talk about space cooperation while GW Bush was president. I travelled there in 2010.
- Rohrabacher: this came to you from DOJ? Holdren: DOJ’s opinion represents the Administration’s opinion on this matter & it is binding on me
- Holdren: WH asked DOJ lawyer to be present – that request not granted by the committee – Rohrabacher said he would have granted had he known
- Most absurd aspect of the China/OSTP/NASA hearing: Committee staff refused to allow a DOJ rep to explain its decision for WH to follow

Hearing: Efforts to Transfer America’s Leading Edge Science to China

- Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (subcommittee chair) – statement
- Rep. Carnahan (ranking minority member) – No prepared statement

Panel I
- Rep. Frank Wolf – statement/press release

Panel II (new)
- Thomas Armstrong, Managing Associate General Counsel, GAO – statement
- John Holdren, OSTP Director – statement
- Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator – statement

Panel III (new)
- Rick Fisher, Senior Fellow, International Assessment and Strategy Center – statement
- Adam Segal, Ph. D., Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations – statement

Office of Science and Technology Policy–Bilateral Activities with China, October 11, 2011

“Section 1340 prohibits OSTP from engaging in bilateral activities with the government of the People’s Republic of China or Chinese-owned companies unless specifically authorized. Because OSTP was prohibited from using appropriated funds to participate in the Innovation Dialogue and the S&ED, OSTP violated the Antideficiency Act.”

Wolf Asks Justice Department to Hold White House Science Adviser Accountable for Breaking Law

“Rep. Frank Wolf, chairman of the House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations subcommittee, today asked the Justice Department to hold the head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) accountable for breaking the law for leading science policy discussions with China.”

Keith’s earlier note: Originally Rep. Wolf, John Holdren, Charlie Bolden, and Thomas Armstrong were all on the same panel. Now Wolf is on his own panel – with Holdren, Bolden, and Armstrong on a separate panel from Wolf. Certainly sounds dysfunctional and potentially confrontational to me. While NASA TV will air the hearing, there is no mention of this hearing being carried live at C-SPAN television, C-SPAN radio, or at the House Committee on Foreign Affairs website. So much for openness and transparency on Rep. Wolf’s part.

Live Tweeting at NASAWatch

NASA Announces Steven Squyres as New NASA Advisory Council Chairman

“NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has named Cornell University Astronomy Professor Steven W. Squyres, as chairman of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC), an assembly of experts from various fields that offer guidance and policy advice to the administrator of America’s space agency.Squyres’ scientific research focuses on the robotic exploration of planetary surfaces, the history of water on Mars, geophysics and tectonics of icy satellites, tectonics of Venus, and planetary gamma-ray and X-ray spectroscopy. His best known research includes the study of the history and distribution of water on Mars and of the possible existence and habitability of a liquid water ocean on Europa.”

Keith’s note: Video: Shenzhou-8 Rendezvous and Docking with Tiangong-1

Senate Passes Budget With Full Funding for James Webb Space Telescope

“The Senate today passed its Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) 2012 Appropriations Bill, which includes full funding for the embattled James Webb Space Telescope, the Hubble successor that will be run largely out of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STscI) in Baltimore.”

NASA Acknowledges JWST Replan Will Delay Science Missions, Space News

“Saving the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) — an infrared deep space observatory now expected to cost $8.8 billion — means that some other NASA science missions slated for launch after 2015 will have to be delayed, the U.S. space agency acknowledged in a report delivered to Congress in late October. NASA, however, did not say in the report which missions might be delayed.”

NASA Internal Memo: Goddard Libraries Transition to Electronic Services

“Beginning January 1, 2012, the NASA Goddard libraries at Greenbelt and Wallops will transition to an all-electronic activity. In response to changes in the research environment and to Center-driven resource priorities, we will no longer maintain a physical presence but will focus on supporting the research needs of the Goddard community electronically. … Closing of the physical libraries is a strategic move to repurpose resources and refocus efforts toward enhanced electronic collections and new services vital for Goddard to continue to be productive and competitive in scientific research. “

Keith’s note: So what does this mean with regard to the books and other printed items that already exist in the GSFC library i.e. “Closing of the physical libraries”? Is GSFC going to just get rid of everything? And if a book or journal is not in electronic format … too bad. I am sure historians will just love this. And this is a “strategic move”?

Video: Hacking Kinect – NASA Applications?, NASAHackSpace

Think for a moment: “Remember all of the things in “Avatar”, “Star Trek”, and other SciFi films that were controlled by people waving their hands over sexy looking devices, wandering around holodecks, or using remotely controlled bodies. When Kinect was first released, Microsoft was against anyone hacking it. A similar thing happened when LEGO Mindstorms was released and hobbyists began to fiddle with the software. As was the case with LEGO, Microsoft has done a complete 180 and has overtly embraced the notion that people can take technology and do things that its originators never imagined. How could Kinect hacks change the way that NASA does things? What would it be like to use Kinect as a whole body interface with 360 degrees of movement while living in microgravity aboard the ISS? Could NASA control Robonaut this way?”

Recent NASAHackSpace Entries:

- NASA Nano-Satellite Launch Challenge
- Thinking Green at NASA
- Inventing the Tractor Beam
- PETMAN: Avatar – Styled Exoskeletons

Elon Musk Named Innovator of the Year Award in Technology by WSJ. Magazine

“WSJ. Magazine’s first annual Innovator of the Year Awards honors the most creative, disruptive, and influential individuals in the world today. Musk was recognized for revolutionizing three of the biggest industries in the world — automobiles, energy and space exploration — simultaneously. Artist Tom Sachs, whose recent work is based on the imagery of space, presented the award to Musk.”

Shooting for the Stars, Wall Street Journal

“Musk launched SpaceX in 2002 and built and designed his own engines from scratch. “I’m head engineer and chief designer as well as CEO, so I don’t have to cave to some money guy,” he says. He launched his rocket with a team of eight in the control room, instead of dozens. The result: He’s offering to send a 10,000-pound payload to geosynchronous orbit for $60 million (compared to an industry standard many tens of millions higher).

Keith’s note: Gee, I guess Wall Street Journal reporter Andy Pasztor was not on the selection committee for this award

NASA to Announce New Agreement for Kennedy Facilities Monday

“The new partnership was developed following a Notice of Availability NASA issued in January. The notice was used to identify interest from industry for space processing and support facilities at Kennedy. These facilities have become available for space-related commercial use following the end of the Space Shuttle Program.”

Boeing to sign lease for NASA’s space shuttle hangar, Reuters

“The company has reached agreement with Space Florida, a state-backed agency working to expand space-related businesses in Florida, to lease Orbiter Processing Facility 3 at the center, Boeing spokeswoman Susan Wells said on Friday.”

NASA Statement on Suspicious Terra Spacecraft Events

According to NASA PAO: “NASA experienced two suspicious events with the Terra spacecraft in the summer and fall of 2008. There was no manipulation of data, no commands successfully sent to the satellite, and no data captured. NASA notified the Department of Defense, which is responsible for investigating any attempted interference with satellite operations. While we cannot discuss additional details regarding the attempted interference, our satellite operations and associated systems and information are safe and secure. We are complying with the guidance in the National Space Policy to protect our critical space systems and have created a working group to establish and implement an agency-wide space protection program. NASA built Landsat-7 for the U.S. Geological Survey; all inquiries regarding Landsat-7 should be addressed there.”

China key suspect in U.S. satellite hacks: commission, Reuters

“Larry Wortzel, one of the 12 commissioners, told Reuters on Friday. PLA is short for China’s People’s Liberation Army. Wortzel, a retired U.S. Army colonel and former military attache in China, cautioned that commissioners cannot be sure that the activity in question can be linked to China. But he said Beijing had conducted numerous tests on space warfare systems in 2007 and 2008. “I don’t think it is a wild analytical leap to suggest that these hacks could have been part of that matrix of testing,” Wortzel said in an email.”

Obama readies to blast NASA, Bob Zubrin, Washington Times

“Word has leaked out that in its new budget, the Obama administration intends to terminate NASA’s planetary exploration program.”

NASA Planetary Science Not Being Killed, Says NASA Official, Universe Today

“This would all be horrible if true, but the director of NASA’s Planetary Science division, Jim Green assured members of the NASA Advisory Council’s Planetary Science subcommittee that it is not.”

Planetary Science Lives, NASA Official Says, Space News

“Speaking at an Oct. 27 meeting of the NASA Advisory Council’s Planetary Science subcommittee, Jim Green, director of NASA’s Planetary Science division, took issue with an opinion piece claiming the agency was gutting its robotic exploration program following a pair of upcoming missions.”

Keith’s note: OK Bob. Please show show us the budget documents wherein OMB intends to “terminate NASA’s planetary exploration program.” No one else seems to know about this. Maybe you can reveal hard proof to support your claim next week at your event with the Planetary Society.

NASA Launches Multi-Talented Earth-Observing Satellite

PCAST Meeting Featured Bolden (2011), earlier post

“Bolden also refered to NPOESS as “one of my nightmares” and that it is “also one of John Holdren’s nightmares” and “we won’t talk about that unless you really want to”.

- Hearing on Polar Weather Satellites(2011), earlier post
- The NPOESS “Headache” Just Got Worse(2011), earlier post
- NPOESS Woes Continue (2009), earlier post
- Prepared Statements from Yesterday’s NPOESS Hearing (2007), earlier post
- Another NPOESS Hearing (2006), earlier post
- More NPOESS Woes (2006), earlier post
- NPOESS Over Budget and Behind Schedule (2006), earlier post
- NPOESS Team Faces The Music (2005), earlier post