Cross posted from original at The Space Tweep Society

I frequently get asked what I think about the direction NASA is taking. I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago but didn’t post it at the time. I’m not really sure why. This post does not outline my personal take on what we should be doing with our space program; it just provides a little bit of perspective on things from where I sit.

Written on April 20th:

After the president’s visit to Kennedy Space Center last week where he laid out the emerging plan for NASA to go forward, I’ve noticed a fair amount of negativity in the space community. Personally, I have high hopes for our nation’s future in space. It isn’t because anything particularly revolutionary was disclosed at Obama’s Space Summit. My perspective has just changed gradually over the past year or so, and a lot of that I owe to my interactions on Twitter. I used to look at space exploration very narrowly. Like this is the way we go to space, and this is the right way and the only way. And this is how it has to be (I’m exaggerating, but just go with it). I looked at the changes to the program more in terms of how they affected me and my community.

Now, after quite some time on Twitter, I have much greater knowledge of commercial space operations, robotic missions, and international perspectives. Because of this I am able to take myself out of the equation and look at the plan more optimistically. It has made me start to challenge the traditional thinking that is ingrained in us about NASA’s role and see more of a big picture view.

Seeing Discovery land today reminded me how impressive the shuttle is as a launch vehicle, and how sad I’ll be to see the program end. That being said, if we waited another five years, ten years, or even more to retire it, would it be any easier? For me, the answer is no. The shuttle is an icon, a symbol of pride, and a treasure. It is going to be hard to see it go no matter when it happens. And there is no denying that as time goes on it would become more difficult to maintain due to issues like aging hardware and availability of spares. So, while I might not be ready for shuttle to end, I probably won’t ever be, in the same way I would never be ready for a loved one to die. It will be a time to grieve and then move on.

I have heard the argument that it would be easier to lay shuttle to rest if we had something better coming along. Ares-1 might have filled that role, but there were funding issues. So now we’re trying something different, with a greater emphasis on commercial spaceflight roles. Our destinations are different, and we aren’t quite sure what kind of vehicle we will be using to get to them. But we’re going SOMEWHERE. We have a commitment to develop a heavy-lift vehicle. These are steps in the right direction, yet they don’t seem to have been met with much optimism. Of course, people have every right to feel the way they do and to question the decisions. Personally, I’m choosing not to. I just don’t see the point.

Regardless of what I think is the the right path to take, I’m not the one who gets to make that decision. Rather than expend energy fighting it or fretting over it, I’m going to accept the new plan for what it is and be hopeful. I’m going to look around for new opportunities arising from it where I can make a difference and seize them, or create my own. I’m going to savor everything about the last few shuttle missions, and remember the program fondly.

Overall I see that there is potentially a bright future out there for NASA and space exploration, it just looks different than what most of us expected. A lot different. If we can approach the new plan with open minds, accept that there are other valid ways of doing things and embrace them, we can make the most of the situation. If, instead, we consider it a tremendous loss and spend our time wallowing in it, then it will most likely manifest as one. For me, it was a simple choice.

Abort Test Photos, Aviation Week

"NASA tested the launch abort system for the Orion crew exploration vehicle for the first time today, with spectacular results. Regardless of the ultimate fate of Orion -- now at the center of a Washington dispute over the future path of U.S. human spaceflight -- the test produced valuable data that can make future crew capsules much safer. William Faulkner, a freelance photographer in Las Cruces, N.M., took these shots of the test at nearby White Sands Missile Range for Aviation Week & Space Technology."

Colorado leaders to lobby on Capitol Hill for state projects, Denver Post

"The group will advocate for the Orion crew capsule, left, being developed by Lockheed Martin Space Systems as an emergency escape vehicle for the international space station and foundation for deep-space exploration; growing military assets; a federal investment in medical research; and funding for several interchanges and FasTracks."

Algorithm is used for safe operation of autonomous, collaborative, vehicle formations.

The reactive collision avoidance (RCA) algorithm allows a spacecraft to find a fuel-optimal trajectory for avoiding an arbitrary number of colliding spacecraft in real time while accounting for acceleration limits. In addition to spacecraft, the technology can be used for vehicles that can accelerate in any direction, such as helicopters and submersibles.

Keith's note: ESMD AA Doug Cooke briefed Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan today via telecon on the results of NASA's internal exploration working group studies. No word yet as to when the rest of us will learn what Doug told Armstrong and Cernan - perhaps next week a this Senate hearing on 12 May?

Reshaped spaceflight plan gains support, MSNBC

"Nelson has arranged a high-profile Senate hearing on the future of U.S. human spaceflight for May 12, just two days before the shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to lift off on its final trip to the International Space Station. Among those who may testify are Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan, the first man and the last man to walk on the moon."

Keith's update: The witnesses for Wedensday's hearing have been announced: Holdren, Bolden, Armstrong, Cernan, and Augustine.

NASA Ames Stimulates Economy with Jobs, Innovation

"NASA's Ames Research Center generated 5,300 jobs and $877 million in total annual economic activity in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area in 2009, according to a new economic benefits study. The study found that nationally, NASA Ames supports more than 8,400 jobs and generates $1.3 billion in annual economic activity. Coordinated by the NASA Research Park Office and prepared by Emeryville-based Bay Area Economics (BAE) in association with Architecture, Engineering, Consulting, Operations and Management's San Francisco office, the study also reported that NASA Ames produced 5,900 jobs and contributed $932 million to California's economy in 2009. The study also forecast that NASA Ames' total economic impacts will grow significantly as its NASA Research Park (NRP) is completed."

Keith's 5:50 pm EDT note: Weird. ARC PAO sent this out at 3:38 pm EDT and they haven't even bothered to get it on their website. You'd think they'd be crowing about this information.

Keith's 6:20 pm EDT update: It took more than 2 hours but ARC PAO finally got this important press release online. Alas, still no mention of it on the Ames Research Park website yet even though it is prominently mentioned in the release. No one out in the real world seems to have these PR and web server issues - just NASA.

NASA Request for Information: Enabling Technology Development and Demonstration Program

"In Fiscal Year 2011, NASA plans to begin the Enabling Technology Development and Demonstrations (ETDD) Program. The primary goal of the ETDD Program is to develop and demonstrate the technologies needed to reduce cost and expand the capability of future space exploration activities. A secondary goal is to create opportunities for engineers and scientists from NASA, private industry, and academia to gain experience in designing, building, and operating new space technologies and spacecraft. A third goal is to develop technologies that can be relevant to non-exploration space activities and life on Earth."

Keith's note: Hmm, didn't Craig Steidle try and set NASA off on this path 6 years ago? Imagine if NASA had followed that path.

This past week at Cape Canaveral saw the passing of a space legend, the build up to one of the final shuttle launches and efforts to stem the flow of highly-technical space jobs away from the area.

It also saw private space company SpaceX striving to meet the launch criteria for its Falcon 9 rocket.

Guenter Wendt, Cape legend, dead at 85

For almost every Mercury, Gemini and Apollo mission, the last face that the astronauts saw before the hatch was closed was that of pad leader Guenter Wendt. Wendt passed away Monday morning at his Merritt Island home; he was 85. Astronauts affectionately dubbed Wendt the 'Pad Führer' and although NASA managers hated the name, Wendt relished it.

Wendt was employed by McDonnell Aircraft during the Mercury and Gemini missions but when NASA chose North American Aviation to build the Apollo Capsule Wendt was no longer involved. After the Apollo 1 fire the astronauts wanted someone with a no-nonsense view toward safety in charge of pad operations and demanded that Wendt be brought back onboard.

Wendt formed close personal bonds with many of the astronauts he worked with, sharing good-natured jokes with them while ensuring that every possible step was taken to guarantee their safety. Wendt would go on to support space shuttle operations before retiring in 1989. Retirement did not slow him down; he worked as a consultant on several film projects and co-authored a book about his experiences entitled: The Unbroken Chain in 2001. Wendt is survived by his three daughters.

Atlantis set to begin final mission

STS-132, the final flight for space shuttle Atlantis, is set to begin May 14 at 2:20 p.m. EDT from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The orbiter will carry a crew of six to the International Space Station on a 12-day mission that will include some three spacewalks. Preparations for Atlantis' launch are currently proceeding on schedule.

"There have been no major issues, it's been going pretty smoothly," NASA spokesperson Candrea Thomas said. "The primary payload has been installed for flight."

The cargo for this flight will be the Russian Mini-Research Module 1, (MRM-1) also known as the Rassvet ("Dawn") module and the Integrated Cargo Carrier-Vertical Light Deployable (ICC-VLD) pallet that will hold a Ku-band Space to Ground Antenna (SGANT).

The crew will carry with them a compact disk that contains the digital copies of all entries submitted to NASA's Space Shuttle Program Commemorative Patch Contest. The contest was created to mark the end of the space shuttle program. The winner of the contest was Blake Dumesnil from NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Atlantis will not be retired after landing. The orbiter will be placed in a bit of a limbo status until the end of this year when it will serve as a possible rescue vehicle for the final shuttle mission, STS-134.

Jobs task force created

U.S. President Barack Obama appointed several high-ranking officials to a special task force that will impact jobs at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The task force's directive is to determine how to best spend $40 million the president has established for workforce retraining and economic development around the Space Coast region of Florida.

The White House released a memo stating that the task force will construct an action plan by August 15 and will be led by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. The panel consists of some 13 members including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

The group's primary objective is to help affected employees find employment after the space shuttle is retired at the end of this year. Some of these employees were scheduled to work on the now-cancelled Constellation Program. Although Congress is still debating the status of the Constellation Program, current employees will require transitional assistance to recover in the interim.

Ad Astra per Aspera

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has pushed back the inaugural launch of its Falcon 9 rocket to no-earlier-than May 23 with the option to launch earlier if the opportunity presents itself. The key issues that delayed the first flight of the Falcon 9 have been range availability and the installation of the rocket's flight termination equipment.

Currently, the space shuttle Atlantis is set to launch on May 14 and a Delta IV rocket is scheduled for a May 20 launch. This means that SpaceX has had to struggle to find a workable launch window. The rocket also needs to have the self termination hardware installed that will self destruct the rocket if something goes wrong during flight.

This first flight is set to carry a prototype of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft into orbit and will launch from Space Launch Complex, (SLC) 40 at Cape Canaveral. SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to use the Falcon 9 to send cargo to the International Space Station. This contract includes three test flights and 12 missions to the orbiting laboratory.

--
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.

SpaceX Falcon 9 and STS-132 Images courtesy Alan Walters, copyright SpaceRef.

We must remain a nation of spacefarers, opinion, June Scobee Rodgers, Arizona Republic

"So now, there is a great national debate on the future of our space program. Do we go on to asteroids and then Mars, perhaps finding life on that tantalizing world, even if it takes decades to get there? Or do we focus on Earth, using the orbital perspective to see and steward our home planet and its resources? Perhaps we should fuel the creative energies of private space exploration. NASA's new direction certainly embraces that entrepreneurial spirit, including flying student experiments on new types of spacecraft. Perhaps this opens up "space exploration for the rest of us."

Former NASA chief calls Obama space policy proposals "drivel", Examiner.com

"Former NASA administrator Michael Griffin takes strong exception to most of President Obama's proposed space exploration policy, disagreeing with the major points and calling much of it "drivel." Griffin spoke in Seattle Tuesday evening at the Museum of Flight. .. Griffin also rapped the President's proposal to nix Moon missions, and concentrate on heavy lifting and Mars. "There was considerable other drivel in the president's proposals, which were supposedly based on the Augustine Commission," he said."

Keith's note: ESMD AA Doug Cooke briefed Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan today via telecon on the results of NASA's internal exploration working group studies. No word yet as to when the rest of us will learn what Doug told Armstrong and Cernan - perhaps next week a this Senate hearing on 12 May?

Reshaped spaceflight plan gains support, MSNBC

"Nelson has arranged a high-profile Senate hearing on the future of U.S. human spaceflight for May 12, just two days before the shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to lift off on its final trip to the International Space Station. Among those who may testify are Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan, the first man and the last man to walk on the moon."

NASA Presentations on New Space Plans for FY2011, Planetary Defense

"Lori Garver, Ed Weiler, Bobby Braun, and Laurie Leshin (all from NASA) presented at a meeting in Washington, D.C. on 05 May 2010 aspects of the new NASA plan, specifically those elements involved with the new NASA budget. I have posted these docs to the Google Docs library (General) for this site."

Keith's note: The Google Docs server where these presentations were originally posted does not seem to be cooperating, so A.C. Charania has provided me with copies of the presentations - here they are: Robert Braun,
Laurie Leshin, and Ed Weiler

"A Trajectory to Nowhere" by Scott "Doc" Horowitz

"The current debate has nothing to do with technical/programmatic issues, it is completely politically motivated and being driven by a few people in the current administration, e.g., Lori Garver, NASA Deputy Administrator, Jim Kohlenberger, Office of Science and Technology Policy Chief of Staff, and Paul Shawcross, Chief of the Science and Space Branch at the Office of Management and Budget. Their objective is to cancel the "Bush" program and punish the states (Alabama, Texas) that "didn't vote for us anyway".

Keith's note: Of course, Scott Horowitz, who certainly seems to enjoy the breeze of that revolving door, is utterly hypocriticial when it comes to deriding decisions as being "political" in Washington DC (ohmygosh, politics in Washington. I wonder who knew this was going on!?) given that he is still a registered lobbyist for ATK (paid $30K in 2008 and 2009, and $10K thus far in 2010), and has been interacting with NASA in that capacity. Does he bother to disclose this when he posts these little one-sided missives? Of course not. Pot, kettle, black, Scott.

Meanwhile, back in our universe ...

Constellation Program Cost and Schedule Will Remain Uncertain Until a Sound Business Case Is Established, GAO, August 2009

"The Constellation program has not yet developed all of the elements of a sound business case needed to justify entry into implementation. Progress has been made; however, technical and design challenges are still significant and until they are resolved NASA will not be able to reliably estimate the time and money needed to execute the program. In addition, cost issues and a poorly phased funding plan continue to hamper the program. Consequently, NASA is changing the acquisition strategy for the Orion project as the agency attempts to increase confidence in its ability to meet a March 2015 first crewed launch. However, technical design and other challenges facing the program are not likely to be overcome in time to meet the 2015 date, even with changes to scope and requirements."

Keith's note: NASA civil servant Nick Skytland is one of the Education and Public Outreach Officers for NEEMO-14. He is overtly using his Twitter account for the performance of his official duties - yet he still blocks specific taxpayers from following his postings. I have to wonder when NASA CIO Linda Cureton will finally put a social media policy in place at NASA that deals with such flagrant abuses of one's position as a NASA employee.

NEEMO 14

2 severely burned in Redstone Arsenal explosion, WALB

"Emergency management officials said two people were injured in an explosion at Redstone Arsenal. A Redstone spokesperson said it happened at 8:45 Wednesday morning at Aviation Missile Research Development and Engineering Center test area 10."

2 severely burned in Redstone Arsenal explosion, WAFF

"One responder said the area where the explosion happened is a heavy demolition site. They have been testing there for days. They are still not sure what went wrong. One HEMSI paramedic described the scene as "horrific."

How space exploration helps us on Earth

"The international space station's research capabilities are now available after years of construction and $100 billion of investment. It offers opportunities to conduct research in an environment unavailable on Earth and it must be sustained, but not just for the sake of science. One problem in the president's proposal is that it does not address the risk to the station that will result from retiring the space shuttle and canceling the Constellation replacement program at the same time. A healthy and viable space station is critical to the emergence of the commercial space industry that the president's proposal relies on. If the space station is lost, the primary reason to send humans into space in the next decade will be lost."

Bipartisanship key for the future of space program

"While we are encouraged the president showed a willingness to make some changes to his proposal for NASA during his visit to Florida, members of Congress from both parties still have concerns. These concerns include the readiness of the commercial space industry to fill the role the president envisions, and how to minimize the risk to the International Space Station, which after more than a decade of construction and $100 billion in investment is about to realize its full research potential."

Open source is NASA's next frontier, FCW

"The challenges to government's adoption and participation in open-source communities is often thought to be a simpe culture clash, but in reality it goes deeper than that, accordning to NASA's newly-appointed chief technology officer. "The issues that we need to tackle are not only cuture, but beyond culture," said Chris Kemp, formerly chief information officer at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "And I think we need new policy and support from the administration and Congress to help us tackle" them."

NASA Names Chief Technology Officer for IT

"NASA Chief Information Officer Linda Cureton announced Chris C. Kemp as the first NASA Chief Technology Officer, or CTO, for Information Technology, a new position established to lead IT innovation at the space agency."

Bigelow Marketing Inflatable Space Stations, Aviation Week

"Bigelow envisions governments and corporations making up the bulk of his company's customers. Prices will range from $200 million-$400 million, depending on the number of "seats" that are purchased. He is pitching Bigelow Aerospace's space station as an "affordable alternative" to the International Space Station, which "is controlled by the Russians and the U.S., with another 14 or so countries along for the ride."

US must remain the global leader in exploring space, Rep. Pete Olson, The Hill

"The president does not outline any path for the United States to get out of low earth orbit. A major component, the revised "Orion-lite" proposal, is little more than an opportunity to delay the inevitable layoffs of highly skilled workers across America and does not further our ability as a nation to explore the heavens or get us to the moon, Mars and beyond. It has also been reported as a mechanism to prevent the government from having to pay out costly Constellation cancellation contracts. This is not a strategy for success in human space flight. It turns the capsule designed to be our spacecraft for journeys to the moon into a lifeboat on the International Space Station."

Crisis of purpose for America's space program, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, The Hill

"As conscientious stewards of the American taxpayers dollars, Congress demanded more. In response, the president took the stage last month at Kennedy Space Center and, showing a clear passion for space and a will to compromise, unveiled a new plan. Unfortunately this new plan creates more questions than answers and seems unworkable within the budget without crippling NASAs other missions. We cannot continue to argue between the president's plan and the status quo. There must be a third way."

Alliant Sees NASA Revamp Easing, WS Journal

"Alliant Techsystems Inc., potentially the biggest corporate loser in White House proposals to outsource large chunks of U.S. manned space exploration, Thursday sought to signal Wall Street that most of the programs are likely to survive the revamping. Alliant's share of NASA's Constellation program, which accounts for about $400 million of the company's $4.80 billion in fiscal 2010 revenue, will stay at roughly the same level through next March, company officials said. The forecast is surprising given White House's proposal to ax nearly all the program."

ATK Reports Strong FY10 Year-End and Fourth-Quarter Operating Results

"Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.  Among these factors are: assumptions related to the Ares I and Ares V programs for NASA."