Ares 1, EELV, and a conference presentation

Those who have been following NASA’s exploration architecture know there’s been a long-running debate about whether the Ares 1 launch vehicle under development is really a better alternative than a derivative of the Atlas 5 or Delta 4 EELVs. That discussion has become more prominent in recent weeks, given the pending change in administrations, continuing […]

Armstrong: transition team should not make decisions on Constellation

Saturday’s Wall Street Journal features a letter to the editor from none other than Neil Armstrong, in response to an article from earlier this month about deliberations President-elect Obama’s transition team is making on the future of NASA’s exploration architecture. (Both links may require a WSJ.com subscription.) Armstrong seems particularly concerned that the transition team […]

Does Mike Griffin need a fan club?

Evidently some people think so. As the Discovery News blog Free Space reported today, former astronaut and associate administrator for exploration Scott Horowitz has created an online petition calling for Griffin to be retained as NASA administrator. The key paragraph from the petition:

Dr. Michael Griffin is one of the most technically and managerially […]

Wait, we thought Griffin was Spock…

Evidently, when it comes to Constellation, Florida Today believes that Obama is, well, Spock-ier.

Oberstar stays in Congress

Remember all that concern that Congressman James Oberstar might become Secretary of Transportation in the Obama Administration? Oberstar became infamous in commercial space circles four years ago when he attempted to block passage of the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act, and the following year passed a bill that would have rolled back some of its […]

Shuttle, spending, and state cuts

I’ve been on travel the last couple of days so I my time has been limited. I did want to point out a few recent articles of note:

Several local officials from Florida’s Space Coast met with President-elect Obama’s NASA transition team last week in Washington, in particular to discuss shuttle retirement and the effect […]

Cooke on change and the blogosphere

Friday’s speaker at the Space Transportation Association luncheon on Capitol Hill was Doug Cooke, making one of his first public speeches in his new role as associate administrator for exploration systems at NASA. Cooke’s speech was largely devoted to the highlights of the last year and the plans for the coming year for the various […]

More on “saving” NASA Langley

An article in today’s Daily Press newspaper follows up on an earlier report about concerns people in the Hampton Roads region have about the future of NASA’s Langley Research Center. “About 20 people” gathered at a luncheon organized by William Harvey, president of Hampton University, to brainstorm ways to preserve the center, which they fear […]

Is the new administration charged up about space solar power?

The Wall Street Journal notes something that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention outside the space community: the apparent interest in Obama’s NASA transition team in space solar power (SSP). The transition web site, Change.gov, has been posting materials it has received and soliciting comments; one of those documents posted late last month was a […]

Transition turmoil

If you have not already read this Orlando Sentinel article about conflicts between NASA leadership and the Obama transition team please stop and read it right now. It’s a remarkable situation, from claims that NASA is “scripting” what employees and contractors tell the transition team to reports of a “heated” conversation between the head of […]