{"id":29367,"date":"2010-10-17T08:10:45","date_gmt":"2010-10-17T08:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/what-next-for-nasa\/"},"modified":"2010-10-17T08:10:45","modified_gmt":"2010-10-17T08:10:45","slug":"what-next-for-nasa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/nasa\/what-next-for-nasa.php","title":{"rendered":"What next for NASA?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On Monday, the President signed the <a href=\"http:\/\/frwebgate.access.gpo.gov\/cgi-bin\/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&amp;docid=f:s3729es.txt.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">2010 NASA Authorization Act<\/a> into law with little fanfare.\u00a0 After an acrimonious debate that started  with the February proposal of an FY2011 budget that would have  dramatically shifted the agency&#8217;s goals and defied the traditional  definitions of partisan warfare, the Senate&#8217;s compromise &#8211; championed by  our own Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Florida&#8217;s Sen. Bill Nelson &#8211; won  the day.<\/p>\n<p>There are two things in the Authorization Act that stand  out to me.\u00a0 First, the Constellation Program, as envisioned by former  NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, is finished.\u00a0 Congress has made it  absolutely clear that his plan to abandon the International Space  Station in 2015 is a non-starter.\u00a0 NASA has been given clear direction  to sustain the ISS through at least 2020.\u00a0 Indications are that we are  likely to keep it running for as long as is safe.<\/p>\n<p><span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Second, the  debate has shifted from whether commercial space will have a role in our  national space program at all to what the most appropriate plan for  developing public-private partnerships will be.\u00a0 Even if we are only  able to get modest reductions in launch costs, for example, through such  partnerships, this will help NASA focus resources in its shift from an  operationalized culture back to an exploratory culture.<\/p>\n<p>The 2010 Authorization Act directs NASA to work on the following tasks over the next three years:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Exploration:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote>\n<ol>\n<li>A multi-purpose crew vehicle (likely derived from Constellation&#8217;s Orion)<\/li>\n<li>A Space Launch System for exploration missions Beyond Earth Orbit<\/li>\n<li>Exploration  Technology Development, Human Research, Commercial Cargo, Commercial  Crew, and Robotic Precursor Studies &amp; Missions<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>Space Operations:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote>\n<ol>\n<li>ISS continuation<\/li>\n<li>A successful run-out of the Shuttle program<\/li>\n<li>A NASA infrastructure modernization program<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>Continued science research in earth sciences, planetary science, astrophysics, and heliophysics<\/li>\n<li>Aeronautics and Space Technology Research<\/li>\n<li>Dedicated Education &amp; Outreach programs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>While  top-level funding totaling between $19 and $20 billion annually is  described for each line item, the real money won&#8217;t be laid out until the  appropriations bill comes.\u00a0 That&#8217;s not likely to happen until after the  next Congress takes office.\u00a0 Until then, NASA will be operating under a  Continuing Resolution which keeps the agency at 2010 funding levels and  direction.<\/p>\n<p>Where the Authorization Act is important is in the  policies, goals, and objectives it lays out for NASA &#8211; particularly with  regards to human space flight.\u00a0 Given that this Act passed unanimously  in the Senate and with easily more than a 2\/3rds majority in the House,  it is unlikely that we will see a change in this guidance for NASA, even  if the appropriations law moves around some of the pie pieces.<\/p>\n<p>First,  the Act states that the long-term goal of NASA&#8217;s human space flight and  exploration efforts is to establish and expand a permanent human  presence beyond Low Earth Orbit and to involve our international  partners where it is practical to do so.<\/p>\n<p>Second, the Act states  that NASA&#8217;s objectives in human space flight are to fully utilize the  ISS (both as a National Laboratory and a proving ground for living in  space), to assist and enable the expansion of commercial presence in  LEO, to lay the foundation for sustainable economic activities in space,  to identify potential space resources, to figure out how to live in  space with &#8220;decreasing reliance on Earth,&#8221; to maximize the contributions  of space exploration to our knowledge base, and to build mutually  beneficial international partnerships in the pursuit of those goals.<\/p>\n<p>In  terms of policy, the Act requires NASA commission the National  Academies in 2012 conduct a review of the &#8220;goals, core capabilities, and  direction of human space flight.&#8221;\u00a0 This is one of the least discussed, but, perhaps, most important aspects of the 2010 Authorization Act.<\/p>\n<p>The NASA science community is guided by a process called the <a href=\"http:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/earth-science\/decadal-surveys\/\" target=\"_blank\">Decadal Survey<\/a>.\u00a0  The National Research Council helps NASA identify and prioritize its  science objectives and assess the missions required to meet those  objectives.\u00a0 This serves as a check and balance on mission creep and  provides the Science Mission Directorate with guidance that survives  beyond the political process.<\/p>\n<p>Until now, human space exploration  had no such process for providing policy and program guidance based on  outside technical analysis.\u00a0 Our work has been entirely subject to the  vagaries of the ever-shifting political winds.\u00a0 The 2010 Authorization  Act explicitly calls for the National Academies to provide such a  service for NASA human space flight, as their report will give findings  and recommendations for the 10 years following the three covered in the  Authorization Act.<\/p>\n<p>Despite what you might read in some blogs, the  Moon is not dead as a potential destination, either.\u00a0 The Authorization  Act explicitly states that the &#8220;regions of cis-lunar space,&#8221; including  the lunar surface, should be included in space infrastructure  development and that international partnerships in these endeavors will  help address national security and economic concerns.<\/p>\n<p>To provide  the best value to the taxpayer, NASA is directed to take a &#8220;pay as you  go&#8221; approach and size its crew and launch systems to the minimum  necessary to conduct cis-lunar missions.\u00a0 Missions to other  destinations, such as asteroids or Mars, would be based on these  technologies.<\/p>\n<p>120 days from the enactment of the Act, NASA is  required to present to Congress an assessment of any effort to expand or  strengthen international collaboration on the ISS and any efforts in  defining near-term cis-lunar missions.\u00a0 These reports will be assumed to  contribute to the development of the multi-purpose crew vehicle, the  Space Launch System, and any other space technology the NASA  Administrator deems appropriate.<\/p>\n<p>While much has been reported  about the Senate supposedly micro-managing the design of the Space  Launch System, Section 302 (which covers SLS) is replete with caveats  that give the NASA Administrator discretion on technical elements.\u00a0 This  suggests to me that Congress may be amenable if NASA runs the numbers  and stands its ground if they&#8217;re asked to do something that doesn&#8217;t make  sense.<\/p>\n<p>The concern is that Congress wants the Space Launch  System to be at initial operating capability by the end of 2016.\u00a0 Under  the existing funding profile, the Constellation Program&#8217;s Ares I rocket  was not expected to be ready by that time and it was an arguably less  capable booster than what Congress is asking for.<\/p>\n<p>The only way  NASA can accomplish this feat is if they have the technical and  programmatic flexibility to develop a booster configuration that meets  the schedule and budget constraints.\u00a0 If this turns out to just not be  possible, NASA needs to be able to speak out without fear of political  repurcussion.<\/p>\n<p>The Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, based on what has  been learned from the Orion project, is also expected to be ready to  enter service no later than the Space Launch System.\u00a0 While a dedicated,  versatile exploration vehicle that can operate in conjunction with  mission-specific modules would be a tremendous asset to NASA, the  concern for this project is much the same as with the Space Launch  System.\u00a0 It&#8217;s not yet clear that NASA can meet the schedule within the  budget expected.<\/p>\n<p>Section 307 is also important because it  establishes as a matter of policy that NASA should have a healthy  balance between operational capabilities and advanced technology  development.\u00a0 The NASA Administrator is authorized to make investments  in such R&amp;D because of the potential for transforming the human  space flight enterprise.<\/p>\n<p>The question now is how soon the  appropriations will be given out and how closely those will follow the  guidance given in the Authorization Act.\u00a0 While some appropriations  committee members have indicated they will defer to the Authorization  Act, other Representatives and Senators who were unhappy with the  Authorization Act have said they will fight to get changes made at the  budget end.<\/p>\n<p>NASA now has the task of making assessments and  beginning initial planning for how it will carry out the direction given  by Congress and the President to establish permanent human presence  Beyond Earth Orbit, make the most possible utilization of the  International Space Station, continue its leadership in basic science  and aeronautics research, and research revolutionary technologies that  could transform our world or protect it from harm.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re not out of the woods yet, but it&#8217;s a place to start on the long road ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Monday, the President signed the 2010 NASA Authorization Act into law with little fanfare.\u00a0 After an acrimonious debate that started with the February proposal of an FY2011 budget that would have dramatically shifted the agency&#8217;s goals and defied the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/nasa\/what-next-for-nasa.php\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"limit_modified_date":"","last_modified_date":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nasa"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29367"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29367\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}