First NASA IT Summit to Gather Industry Leaders and Explore Tech Innovations

"NASA's first Information Technology (IT) Summit will bring together government and industry leaders to explore the outer reaches of information technology. The summit, which takes place August 16-18 at the Gaylord National Harbor in Maryland, will gather 750 participants and more than 100 expert presenters with themes on collaboration, social networking, innovation, infrastructure, operations and IT security and privacy."

JSC's future relies on moon program compromise, Houston Chronicle

"The political potshots have subsided and the serious horse-trading lies ahead as the White House and Congress grind toward a compromise to salvage parts of the NASA moon program crucial to Houston's Johnson Space Center. ... Obama critics have gained momentum by seizing on NASA's sacking of outspoken Constellation program manager Jeff Hanley, rumors of NASA attempting to cancel existing contracts in violation of congressional language, and the administration's targeted workforce transition assistance for the electoral battleground of Florida rather than all states potentially affected by NASA layoffs."

Keith's note: Dale Thomas has simply picked up where Jeff Hanley left off and has told his staff that this is what he is doing. Nothing has changed and JSC still operates in open defiance of NASA Headquarters - starting with its center director.

Keith's update: If you go to the comments section and scroll to the bottom you will see comments by Jim Muncy. Jim explains things far better than I can with regard to following the "Law" vs following Congressional direction.

Space Coast task force gathers at White House, Orlando Sentinel

"Top administration officials met at the White House on Tuesday as part of a months-long effort to save the Space Coast economy, which expected to crater once NASA flies it final space shuttle mission this year from Cape Canaveral. No decisions were made, but NASA chief Charlie Bolden and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said they were in the process in trying to decide how to spend $40 million in federal dollars to help thousands of Kennedy Space Center workers set to lose their jobs after the shuttle's retirement."

In Space, Everyone Can Hear You Cheer, Motley Fool

"It's a big dream, but SpaceX founder Elon Musk has never been one to shy away from a challenge. In the market for moving dollars from Point A to Point B, he built PayPal into a viable contender to Western Union before he sold off the company to eBay for a small fortune. He's taken said fortune and used it to found both SpaceX and electric car maker Tesla Motors."

SpaceX profitable despite CEO's cash problems -- but is an IPO needed?, VentureBeat

"But now SpaceX has responded to this question: Board member Luke Nosek of Founders Fund, a major investor in the company, told PEHub that SpaceX has been profitable for the last several years, and that it will be again in 2010, with or without federal funding. The company successfully sent its Falcon 9 rocket 155 miles up into orbit last week, and has more than 24 orders (totaling $2.5 billion in revenue) to deliver satellites into space over the next five years. The plan is to reinvest this cash in the company."

Columbia Accident Investigator Speaks Out Against NASA Commercial Crew Plan, Space News

"Fellow CAIB member John Logsdon, now professor emeritus at the George Washington University's Space Policy Institute here, said Tetrault is repeating the mantra of many commercial crew opponents by singling out "new entrepreneurial" and ignoring the fact that large, well-established companies including Boeing and United Launch Alliance are poised to compete for the $6 billion NASA intends to spend over the next five years on the commercial crew initiative."

Blog says NASA officials blame Griffin for Constellation budget crisis; Griffin responds, Huntsville Times

"Regarding your question, 'What was your attitude/instruction regarding this set-aside law when you were administrator?,' I had no discussions in connection with and issued no instructions on this matter. In fact, I had no concern whatsoever about it. The NASA Administrator rarely (if ever) is involved in the technical details of procurement and contracting, and certainly I was not. I had, and still have, great regard for and confidence in NASA legal and procurement staff, and am confident that the decisions they made in regard to the apportionment of termination liability will withstand examination."

Antideficieny Act Violations at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA OIG, 10 April 2006

"The ADA violations occured because of the lack of internal controls within the OCFO and OCFO personnel's misunderstanding of OMB apportionment requirements."

"Management's response: The Administrator concurred, stating that the OCFO will demonstrate that appropriations available to be spent in FY 2006 can be traced from appropriations, to apportionments, to allotments, to commitments, and to obligations."

Keith's note: Hmm, it would seem that Mike knew that NASA had ADA compliance problems and that he did have some "concerns" despite his statement to the contrary.

Rep. Bishop responds to NASA's efforts to end the Constellation, Cache Valley Daily

"This recent directive handed down by NASA officials shows blatant disregard for the laws set forth by Congress to prevent this very action," says Rep. Bishop. "The administration is disregarding these policies with reckless abandon and doing so in a way that I find to be in complete violation of the legal parameters."

Hutchison says NASA is skirting law by shutting down Constellation, The Hill

"For months, NASA's leadership has claimed they are not working to subvert Constellation despite information to the contrary," Hutchison said in a statement."

NASA orders immediate cuts; job losses expected, KENS5

"At the time, economists predicted as many as 7,000 jobs could be lost in Houston as the space shuttle program was phased out and Constellation winded down. Another 4,000 indirect jobs at local businesses were predicted to be on the line."

Constellation contractor Boeing makes Huntsville job cuts, WAFF

"The cancellation of the NASA Constellation program is having an impact on contractors in Huntsville. Boeing spokesperson Ed Memi said they could possibly lay of 60 percent off the 300 people who work on the Constellation and Ares project."

Boeing will issue termination notice to Constellation workers here July 2, Huntsville Times

"Boeing spokesman Ed Memi said notices will go out July 2 with workers leaving the job Sept. 3. Boeing will try to place as many employees as possible on other programs, he said."

NASA JSC Internal Email: Constellation Program FY2010 Replanning Update

"This morning, Ellen Ochoa met with our civil service supervisors from across the Center as well as members of the Joint Leadership Team to discuss replanning of Constellation operations for the remainder of this fiscal year. Ellen was joined by Dale Thomas, Acting Constellation Program Manager, and Charlie Stegemoeller, Constellation Program Planning and Control Manager. They noted that the Constellation Program has been given the authority to proceed immediately to assign preliminary adjustments and funding reductions. This replan will have an impact on contracts, workforce, and planned content of the Constellation Program. We don't know the specific impacts at the Center levels or at JSC yet. The Program is working through the projects and implementing organizations to determine plans and numbers of team members that will be affected."

Hutchison: NASA Leadership Skirting the Law to Shut Down Space Programs

"Senator Hutchison today received a letter from NASA Administrator Bolden outlining the decision and NASA's justification. She noted that it further underscores the extent to which NASA has taken aggressive steps to move in a different direction without providing ample explanation or justification to Congress. The letter from Administrator Bolden contains language discussing the new "principles" to guide spending that are virtually identical to direction reportedly given by NASA headquarters in an email to the now reassigned Constellation program manager more than three weeks ago. The email with these operational instructions has been provided to the NASA Inspector General as part of the investigation Hutchison requested with Chairman Rockefeller into the reassignment of the Constellation program manager."

NASA Moves To Kill Moon Program Despite Congressional Prohibition, Florida Today

"The move to essentially kill Constellation comes despite joint legislation passed by the House and Senate Appropriations committees that prohibits NASA from terminating any Constellation work without congressional approval. It also comes despite rulings by both the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals that places all termination liability on the government rather than contractors. One case in point: A lawsuit brought by DuPont in the U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit, in April 2004."

Congress and contractors reject NASA move on Constellation moon plan , Orlando Sentinel

"ATK believes this was contrived on a recent NASA premise that ATK has been obligated to set aside termination liability estimates on this contract when in fact NASA's contracting officer provided ATK the exact opposite instruction on numerous occasions over the last several years, and directed that such costs not be accounted in any contract processes or procedures."

Contractors Told to Prepare for Moon Program's End, NY Times

"If this is to be the new agency policy and practice, then NASA should shift responsibility for termination liability on all of its current contracts, not simply Constellation," Dr. Pace said. "As it stands, this appears to be purposefully punitive against a specific set of NASA contractors."

PETA to crash NASA's Star Trek Live opening, Orlano Sentinel

"Intruder alert! PETA protesters are planning to crash the opening of NASA's Star Trek Live event tomorrow morning. PETA protesters are planning to greet visitors entering Kennedy Space Center and hold up signs in protest of NASA's planned radiation experiment on monkeys."

Letter From Charles Bolden to Sen. Shelby Regarding Constellation

"Current estimates for potential termination liability under Constellation contracts total $994 million. Once these termination liability estimates are accounted for, the overall Constellation program is confronting a total estimated shortfall of $991 million for continued program effort for the balance of the year, compared with the revised FY 2010 plan. Given this estimated shortfall, the Constellation program cannot continue all of its planned FY 2010 program activities within the resources available. Under the Anti-Deficiency Act (ADA), NASA has no choice but to correct this situation. Consequently, the Constellation program has formulated an updated funding plan for the balance of FY 2010, consistent with the following principles:"

NASA Sued for Refusing to Release Contracting Data on United Space Alliance, American Small Business League

"On Tuesday, June 8, the American Small Business League (ASBL) filed suit against the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Federal District Court, Northern District of California. The case was filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) after NASA repeatedly refused to release subcontracting reports for contracts issued to United Space Alliance, LLC, a joint venture between defense giants Lockheed Martin and Boeing."

SpaceX Illustrates Privatization Risk, WS Journal

"Mr. Musk's closely held company still needs a cash infusion of more than $1 billion in the next year or two to reach its goal of transporting astronauts to the international space station later this decade. ... "

Elon Musk Weighs in On WSJ Piece, and Future of SpaceX, PEHUB

"Andy Pasztor's article in the Journal was, I'm sorry to say, rife with errors. He was off by a factor of ten on what it would cost SpaceX to develop a launch escape system. Also, under no circumstances would SpaceX be seeking a financing round from the taxpayers. That doesn't make any sense."

For Mission to Mars, a New Road Map, NY Times

"At a workshop last month in Galveston, members of NASA study teams looking at how to put in effect the Obama policy presented their current thinking to 450 attendees from industry and academia. The NASA presenters, in describing how the space agency could make it to Mars on a limited budget, said their ideas represented "a point of departure" that would be revised with feedback. The new plans place a heavy emphasis on in-orbit refueling stations, which would reduce the size of rockets needed. For propulsion to Mars, the road map envisions a nuclear-powered ion engine."

In New Space Race, Enter the Entrepreneurs, NY Times

"If this business plan unfolds as it is written -- the company has two fully inflated test modules in orbit already -- Bigelow will be buying 15 to 20 rocket launchings in 2017 and in each year after, providing ample business for the private companies that the Obama administration would like to finance for the transportation of astronauts into orbit -- the so-called commercial crew initiative."

SpaceX Achieves Orbital Bullseye With Inaugural Flight of Falcon 9 Rocket, SpaceX

"The NASA COTS program has demonstrated the power of what can be accomplished when you combine private sector responsiveness and ingenuity with the guidance, support and insight of the US government. For less than the cost of the Ares I mobile service tower, SpaceX has developed all the flight hardware for the Falcon 9 orbital rocket, Dragon spacecraft, as well as three launch sites. SpaceX has been profitable for three consecutive years (2007 through 2009) and expects to remain modestly profitable for the foreseeable future. The company has over 1000 employees in California, Texas and Florida, and has been approximately doubling in size every two years. A majority of the future growth is expected to occur in Texas and Florida."

Playing politics: President's NASA policy could haunt his party at the polls in Harris County, Editorial, Houston Chronicle

"A parade of administration officials, starting with the president, has gone to Florida to promise federal assistance. In a speech at KSC, where some 20,000 NASA and contract workers are affected, Obama pledged an additional $40 million in job assistance. No such consideration has been shown toward other NASA facilities around the country, including the Johnson Space Center in Clear Lake. It stands to lose up to 7,000 NASA and contractor jobs. We smell the stench of political favoritism in the consideration lavished by the administration upon Florida, a presidential swing state, while facilities in Alabama and Texas, two reliable GOP strongholds, are ignored."

NASA's First Lunar Orion Test Capsule Built, Ken Kremer

"America's first Lunar Test capsule for people since Project Apollo has just been welded into shape. This work finishes the structural framework of the pioneer Orion crew cabin - known as the Ground Test Article - or GTA, by a Lockheed Martin contractor team toiling away at the historic NASA-owned Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, damaged during Hurricane Katrina."

NASA and Japan Announce Cloud Computing Collaboration

"NASA and Japan's National Institute of Informatics (NII) have announced plans to explore interoperability opportunities between NASA's Nebula Cloud Computing Platform and Japan's NII Cloud Computing Platform. "The interoperability between an NII Cloud and the NASA Nebula Cloud is a combined effort toward the creation of an International academic-information infrastructure, which is essential in promoting the global cooperation of research and education," said Masao Sakauchi, NII's director general. "The interoperability of this cloud infrastructure will make it possible to create new academic activities by enabling the software and content to be shared amongst researchers, faculties, and students worldwide."

Space Weather Enterprise Forum 2010: Building an Informed and Resilient Society - the Decade Ahead

"As we approach the next peak of solar activity expected in 2013, our nation faces multiplying uncertainties from increasing reliance on space weather-affected technologies for communication, navigation, security, and other activities, many of which underpin our national infrastructure and economy. We also face increasing exposure to space weather-driven human health risk as trans-polar flights and space activities, including space tourism, increase."

Cape Canaveral was in the spotlight this week both domestically and internationally. At Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex a grant was unveiled designed to help space workers find work after the end of the shuttle program. An international team visited Kennedy Space Center and expressed their interest in joining the U.S. in future efforts to explore the solar system. To wrap up the week several veteran space flyers were inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Oh, and how about SpaceX, Falcon 9 lifts off on maiden voyage.

Secretary of Labor announces grant to aid transition of KSC workers

The U.S. Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis announced a grant to assist space workers transition into new jobs after the space shuttle is retired at the end of this year. She made the announcement at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Thursday, June 3. The $15 million grant is being awarded to Brevard Workforce Development to provide services needed to help workers that have been laid off find new jobs.

There are expected to be some 3,200 workers that will lose their jobs at the end of this year when the space shuttle program is scheduled to end. There are currently only two more shuttle flights remaining on the flight manifest with a third potential flight being discussed. When the shuttles finally stop flying it is predicted that approximately some 8,000 workers will lose their jobs.

Approximately two-thirds of the grant's funds will go toward placing some 1,300 workers into new positions. Employers would hire laid-off workers; money from the grant would pay half an employee's salary for three months with the hope that the employee would be picked up after this time period.

Workers with a wide range of experience levels are expected to find themselves in need of assistance. A variety of NASA contractors such as United Space Alliance (USA) and Boeing are expecting high numbers of layoffs.

The grant will help those affected get access to much needed services that will allow them to find new jobs, be retrained toward new career fields and review the skills they currently have for job placement. The grant is also designed to help workers gain new training and education. These programs are not limited to just aerospace workers, other employees impacted by the shuttle's retirement are also being considered for a secondary group that might become eligible under the grant.

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis talks to the media and community leaders about the $15 million Florida will receive from the Labor Department's National Emergency Grant Program to assist workers. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Japanese delegation sees potential for cooperation during KSC visit

A delegation from Japan expressed great interest in further cooperation between the U.S. and Japanese manned space programs during their visit to Kennedy Space Center. In fact they see far more potential under this new initiative than under the Constellation Program. The delegation visited Kennedy Space Center Tuesday, June 1.

The delegation saw great potential for Japanese involvement under the new direction to develop more commercial launch services for astronauts. Managers with the Mitsubishi Corporation were among the delegation and expressed the hope that their company could provide taxi services for astronauts. Mitsubishi currently manufactures the H-IIA and H-IIB rockets.

Japan has not yet launched astronauts into orbit but has made great strides in recent years and the representatives present Tuesday expressed an eagerness to take the next step. Recently Japan launched its first H-II Transfer Vehicle to the International Space Station. The H-II's first flight delivered supplies to the space station. Although the H-II is unmanned and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has only been able to send astronauts into orbit aboard American and Russian vehicles, the agency is working on developing manned spaceflight capabilities.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Soars to Orbit on First Flight

This past Friday SpaceX launched Falcon 9 on its maiden voyage. Hype surrounding the launch meant that many eyes were watching this launch. SpaceX had gone to great lengths to minimize expectations. However despite the difficulty in successfully launching new rockets on their first flight, the Falcon 9 performed near flawlessly. The data is being reviewed and some of it will no doubt make to the public and whatever issues that came up will no doubt be addressed before Falcon 9's next launch. Below are two separate views of the launch. One taken by NASA and the other from the SpaceX webcast feed.

Astronaut Hall of Fame inducts four new members

The Astronaut Hall of Fame inducted four new members into its ranks on Saturday, June 5, 2010. The new hall of fame members included the first African American astronaut Guy Bluford Jr., Ken Bowersox, and Kathy Thornton who flew on the rescue mission to the Hubble Space Telescope as well as Frank Culbertson Jr., a three-time shuttle veteran and former commander of the International Space Station.

Guests were treated to an autograph session with astronauts Loren Shriver, Bill Shepherd and Jeff Hoffman before the ceremony began. For this year's induction the co-star of the hit TV series Two and a Half Men, Jon Cryer, was master of ceremonies. He introduced each of the astronauts and provided guests with the astronaut's various backgrounds. This year's induction was also notable for the high-ranking astronauts in attendance.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana and Johnson Space Center Director Michael Coats, who are all former astronauts, were present and both Bolden and Coats spoke during the ceremony.

The induction ceremony is held every year to include new astronauts into the hall's ranks. The Astronaut Hall of Fame is managed by Delaware North Companies who also operate the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

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The Cape Week in Review is compiled by Jason Rhian, the Cape Insider, and is a weekly
round-up of what's happening at Cape Canaveral. If you have information or suggestions for the Cape Week in Review please email us at capereview@spaceref.com.

OMB Memorandum: Identifying Low-Priority Agency Programs

"Your agency is required to identify the programs and subprograms that have the lowest impact on your agency's mission and constitute at least five percent of your agency's discretionary budget. This information should be included with your FY 2012 budget submission, but is a separate exercise from the budget reductions necessary to meet the target for your agency's FY 2012 discretionary budget request."