NASA Watch

Back to the Moon

2012-02-10T22:23:06Z

Back to the Moon--For a Fraction of the Old Price, Charles Miller

"As a former NASA executive, I am saddened by the media response to Newt Gingrich's proposal that we return to the moon. The mockery and ridicule does America a great disservice. Space exploration and development is an important national issue. It's not only possible and necessary to safeguard our future--it can be a lot cheaper than anybody dreams."

CASIS Still Doesn't Do Anything - Not That Anyone Notices

2012-02-10T21:01:13Z

International Space Station National Laboratory Education Project (ISS NLEP)

"The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Office of Education, NASA Higher Education Office in cooperation with the Human Exploration Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) and the Johnson Space Center (JSC) Office of Education, invites proposals to seven (7) areas within the ISS National Lab Education Project's (ISS NLEP) portfolio."

Keith's 9 Feb note: As has been the case for months, there is no mention of CASIS in this announcement, and CASIS makes no mention of this announcement on its website. Also, there is no mention at the NASA Education website, nothing at the ISS National Lab website, or at the NASA ISS website. No one at NASA Human Spaceflight seems to care about coordinating with each other or informing the public anymore.

Keith's 10 Feb note: 24 hours later: still no links, press releases - nothing.

White House Orders Embargoed NASA Budget Briefing Canceled

2012-02-10T17:12:30Z

Keith's note: There was supposed to be an embargoed press briefing on the FY 2013 budget at NASA HQ today at 2:00 pm EST. That has now been cancelled. I do not know who cancelled it but Brian Berger at Space News is reporting that this was done on orders from the White House - and that's a good enough source for me. I was not planning on attending this event (I have in the past) since these things tend to be high level, no policy questions allowed, no quotes, and you have to decide between listening to the off the record briefer or furiously write down the budget numbers they flash on a screen (no handouts). Of course, if you attend you are then under an embargo until the budget is released on Monday - and I honor embargoes when I agree to be under them. But now the White House has clamped down on this so its a moot point. That said, I really do appreciate NASA PAO for taking the time to try and do this and for inviting me and others.

NASA's Gloomy Budget Outlook for Planetary Science

2012-02-10T04:00:10Z

NASA Wants A Flat Budget For Fiscal 2013, Aviation Week

"NASA will take only an $89 million cut in its topline spending request for fiscal 2013 compared to this year's operating plan, sources said Friday, but the $17.711 billion NASA budget proposal due out Feb. 13 will axe the joint effort with Europe to return samples from Mars to pay for development overruns on the James Webb Space Telescope."

Scientists say NASA will cut missions to Mars, MSNBC

"Jim Bell, a planetary scientist at Arizona State University who also serves as president of the nonprofit Planetary Society, said "there's some validity" to the criticism of NASA's budgetary record. He said the scientific community "has heard that message" and is trying to focus on the highest-priority planetary projects for the next decade, including missions to Mars. "The community has a responsibility to demonstrate that we can do this within cost limits. ... If there are to be cuts, let's try to make them as fair as possible," he told msnbc.com. "It would seem to be fair if everyone across the board is being asked to scale back. The cuts should be equitable, but I don't think we're seeing that."

Congressman Adam Schiff opposes potential cuts to NASA's planetary exploration program, San Gabriel Tribune

"Schiff described his meeting with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden as "tense." "What I'm hearing that they're proposing will be absolutely devastating to planetary science and the Mars program," Schiff said. "If this is what they have in mind, I'm going to be fighting them tooth and nail."

Scientists say NASA cutting missions to Mars, AP

"Two scientists who were briefed on the 2013 NASA budget that will be released next week said the space agency is eliminating two proposed joint missions with Europeans to explore Mars in 2016 and 2018. NASA had agreed to pay $1.4 billion for those missions. Some Mars missions will continue, but the fate of future flights is unclear."

Keith's note:Meanwhile the James Webb Space Telescope crowd is eerily quiet. They know that the cost being covered for their latest overrun grossly eclipses the cuts that are being made elswhere. Alas, the grossly over-budget and oft-delayed MSL is on its way to Mars while the grossly over-budget ISS orbits overhead.

50 years of doing this - and NASA still can't figure out what things will actually cost?

Keith's note: Details of the FY 2013 NASA budget are starting to trickle out. One of the most prominent changes will be the substantial cut to planetary science at SMD. At the same time, the agency has to eat $1 billion in Webb telescope overruns - half of which will come out of SMD. Stay tuned. It isn't going to be pretty. This certainly promises to be a rather depressing event: Second International MEPAG (Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group) Meeting 27-28 Feb 2012.

A few words about NASA's Mars mess, Houston Chronicle

"NASA needs to find money to pay for the $8.7 billion James Webb Space Telescope, which has run wildly over its budget but is nevertheless considered a foundation to the future of astronomy. Think: Too big to fail. As NASA's science chief Weiler was ultimately responsible for that budget, Keith Cowing notes. And because of the Webb problems NASA is now in the position of having to gut part of its Mars program and seriously damage its relationship with the European Space Agency, which has been a reliable partner in the past."

Ed Weiler Says He Quit NASA Over Cuts to Mars Program, Science Insider

"Next week, President Barack Obama will propose a $300 million cut in NASA's planetary science programs as part of his 2013 request for the agency, ScienceInsider has learned. If adopted by Congress, the 20% cut in planetary science would in all likelihood shelve NASA's ability to participate in two Mars missions to be carried out in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA). "

Obama's budget would cut Mars, solar system exploration, Washington Post

"The budget coming Monday from the Obama administration will send the NASA division that launches rovers to Mars and probes to Jupiter crashing back to Earth. Scientists briefed on the proposed budget said that the president's plan drops funding for planetary science at NASA from $1.5 billion this year to $1.2 billion next year, with further cuts continuing through 2017. It would eat at NASA's Mars exploration program, which, after two high-profile failures in 1999, has successfully sent three probes into Martian orbit and landed three more on the planet's surface."

Europe and Russia Plan Trips to Mars--But Maybe Without NASA, Science

"The European Space Agency (ESA) and its Russian counterpart, Roscosmos, are making plans to carry out the international ExoMars exploration program without help from one of the project's original partners: NASA. The U.S. space agency may have to pull out of the project if the Obama Administration's 2013 budget request to Congress, to be released on Monday, includes expected cuts in the agency's funding for Mars programs."

ExoMars cooperation between Nasa and Esa near collapse, BBC

"Nasa has told Esa it is now highly unlikely it will be able to contribute to the endeavours, which envision an orbiting satellite and a big roving robot being sent to the Red Planet. The US has yet to make a formal statement on the matter but budget woes are thought to lie behind its decision. Europe is now banking on a Russian partnership to keep the missions alive. A public announcement by Nasa of its withdrawal from the ExoMars programme, as it is known in Europe, will probably come once President Obama's 2013 Federal Budget Request is submitted."

NASA is too poor to help Europe go to Mars, io9.com

"But now, it looks as though NASA could be just days away from officially pulling out of the joint project, depriving the ESA of a major source of financial, technological, and experiential backing."

Has NASA Scuppered Europe-led Exomars Mission? , Discovery News

"It is now hoped Russia might be able to step in where NASA left off. Unfortunately, this decision will raise a few eyebrows considering Russia's recent bad luck with getting stuff into space and keeping it there. Also, Roscosmos' track record with getting stuff to Mars is abysmal."

The Latest Nonsense Ed Weiler Would Have You Believe

2012-02-10T02:07:56Z

Ed Weiler Says He Quit NASA Over Cuts to Mars Program, Science Insider

"The Mars program is one of the crown jewels of NASA," says Ed Weiler. "In what irrational, Homer Simpson world would we single it out for disproportionate cuts?" Weiler's resignation in September caught the space science community by surprise. But he says it was the culmination of a soul-sapping and ultimately unsuccessful battle with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on how to accommodate the rising cost of the James Webb Space Telescope within an overall agency budget being squeezed by efforts to reduce federal spending and shrink the deficit. "It all left a very bad taste," Weiler told ScienceInsider this morning from his house in Vero Beach, Florida."

Keith's note: This is sadly hilarious. Of course Ed Weiler's chronic inability to control James Webb Space Telecope's costs is what led to this situation in the first place. So, I guess Ed Weiler quit to protest his own poor job performance, right? Ed also neglects to mention the large cost overrun and 2 year delay in MSL - also under his tenure. I guess that did not affect things either, right Ed?

Is Earthbound Innovation Outpacing Microgravity Research?

2012-02-10T01:52:02Z

Bioreactors Drive Advances in Tissue Engineering, NASA Spinoffs 2011

"Johnson Space Center innovators created a rotating wall bioreactor that mimics microgravity conditions, allowing for healthier, more natural-forming cell cultures. Licensed to Synthecon Inc. of Houston, the technology now enables drug development and medical research into treatment for conditions such as diabetes and cancer."

New method makes culture of complex tissue possible in any lab, University of California - San Diego

"Scientists at the University of California, San Diego have developed a new method for making scaffolds for culturing tissue in three-dimensional arrangements that mimic those in the body. This advance, published online in the journal Advanced Materials, allows the production of tissue culture scaffolds containing multiple structurally and chemically distinct layers using common laboratory reagents and materials. According to the UC San Diego researchers, this process is more affordable and widely feasible than previous methods that required expensive equipment and expertise."

- While NASA Flies In Circles Technology Advances Back on Earth, earlier post
- Another Alternative to ISS-Based Research (Update), earlier post
- Using the ISS: Once Again NASA Has Been Left in the Dust, earlier post

Free PR That NASA CTO Ignores

2012-02-08T17:58:12Z

Keith's note: Too bad that NASA OCT does seem to know how to feature - or at least make people aware of - articles like this - and do so in real time. Articles like this on prominent blogs such as Gizmodo point to the true potential - and real spinoffs - that NASA has already created - ones that await promotion and full utilization. Gizmodo gets 5.9 million page views per day and has approximately 3 million unique visitors - daily. Funny thing, NASA ARC and JPL PAO have been helping Gizmodo with this series of articles. But no one at NASA PAO seems to talk to anyone at NASA OCT (or vice versa). Free PR, y'all.

More Botched PR by the Commercial Crew Crowd (Update)

2012-02-08T17:02:25Z

NASA KSC Solicitation: Commercial Crew Integrated Capability

"NASA intends to begin a new initiative, the Commercial Crew integrated Capability (CCiCap), to facilitate industry's development of an integrated CTS. This activity is expected to result in significant maturation of commercial CTS ."

Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) Pre-Proposal Conference

"A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held on February 14, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. (EST). The conference will not be available via teleconference or webex."

Keith's note: First NASA quietly "announces" today's event last Friday less than 4 days before the event (with a weekend in between) - and only in the Federal Register. No media advisory. Suddenly, Charlie Bolden is blogging about this. Then they toss out news of a workshop and they haven't the inclination or the know-how to do a simple telephone dial-in or Webex for the rest of the U.S. (like they did today)? Its like these commericial folks just do not know what they are doing until the last minute - and then they would rather have as few people know what they are up to as possible.

Keith's 8 Feb update: But wait, another part of NASA has figured out how to do what KSC does not know how - or does not care to try - to do. Indeed, this sounds far more complex than a simple telephone/webex hook-up to a procurement dog and pony show like KSC's: NASA JSC Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Program Integration Contract Virtual Industry Day: "NASA/JSC intends to conduct the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Program Integration Contract (MPIC) Virtual Industry Day via WebEx on February 28, 2012 from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., Central Standard Time (CST)."

One More Step on the Commercial Path to Low Earth Orbit

"President Obama is working hard to create an American economy built to last, and NASA's support of commercial innovation to reach low Earth orbit is helping to support these efforts by spurring new technological development and creating jobs and economic benefits for years to come."

FAA Bill and Commercial Space

2012-02-08T12:33:59Z

Commercial space industry welcomes FAA bill, The Hill

"By extending the learning period, we're opening the door for continued growth and job creation, while also helping keep America at the forefront of space travel and exploration. I look forward to seeing what comes next from this burgeoning industry," said House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)."

Commercial Spaceflight Federation Welcomes Passage of Legislation to Provide Regulatory Stability to Growing Industry

"The Commercial Spaceflight Federation welcomes Congress's passage today of the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, which includes a key provision granting regulatory stability to the commercial spaceflight industry."

Support for Newt May Be Fading But Not for Using the Moon

2012-02-08T12:30:28Z

Guest Commentary: Moon base is not a loony, Denver Post

"The moon continues to surprise and enthrall us with possibilities for scientific breakthroughs, resource utilization, and human exploration. We only scratched the surface of the moon's potential during the Apollo program, covering an area smaller than Coors Field during Apollo 11. It's time to go back to the moon -- and, this time, to stay."

Ex-NASA exec: Gingrich moon colony lost in the laughter, CNN

"Lost in the laughter over the past two weeks has been GOP presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's core point about America's future in space. We shouldn't just explore space, we should develop and even settle it, using the same enterprise-friendly approaches that helped open the West and the skies."

Robert Citron

2012-02-08T12:28:09Z

Robert A. Citron dies at 79; space visionary

"In 1983 he developed Spacehab, a pressurized module that fit inside the cargo bay of the space shuttle. He had envisioned it for human cargo."

The Industry Day Wallops Won't Tell You About - Update

2012-02-07T20:00:45Z

NASA and Industry Join Forces for Virginia Aerospace Day

"NASA leaders from Langley Research Center in Hampton and Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore will join aerospace industry representatives statewide to bring this message to Virginia General Assembly members on AeroSpace Days 2012, Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 8-9, in Richmond. Concluding the two-day event, media are invited to a news conference at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, in the General Assembly 4 West Conference Room."

Keith's 6 Feb 10 pm EST note: No mention on the WFF website- but it is mentioned at LaRC.

Keith's 7 Feb ~~10 am~~ 3 pm EST note: Still no mention by Wallops. This is pretty pathetic. Wallops expects to get attention in Richmond and yet their management is incapable of updating its own website about this event? Not even the local media (Daily Press, Virginia-Pilot, Delmarva News) has picked up on it.

Janice Voss

2012-02-07T14:06:34Z

Keith's note: I just learned that Astronaut Janice Voss has died. Details to follow.

Astronaut Janice Voss Has Died

"NASA astronaut Janice Voss passed away from cancer overnight after a courageous battle. One of only six women who have flown in space five times, Voss' career was highlighted by her work and dedication to scientific payloads and exploration."

Susan Niebur

2012-02-07T12:19:23Z

@WomenPlanetSci - @whymommy - Susan Niebur, astrophysicist/mother has passed away from breast cancer. See: http://toddlerplanet.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/goodbye/

Anthony Calio

2012-02-07T02:33:17Z

Anthony J. Calio, NOAA administrator

"Anthony J. Calio, 82, a physicist and former administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who also had been a senior executive of NASA, died Jan. 14 at his home at Whidbey Island, Wash."