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Tom Stafford
Tom Stafford

Keith’s Note: Former NASA astronaut Gen. Thomas Stafford has died. Details to follow. Ad Astra. Update from Bill Nelson: “Today General Tom Stafford went to the eternal heavens which he so courageously explored as a Gemini and Apollo astronaut as well as a peacemaker in Apollo Soyuz. Those of us privileged to know him are very sad but grateful we knew a giant.”

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  • NASA Watch
  • March 18, 2024
That Time Wernher von Braun’s Rocket Tried To Kill My Father (Repost)
That Time Wernher von Braun’s Rocket Tried To Kill My Father (Repost)

Keith’s note: As best I can collate the facts, on 18 March 1945, 79 years ago today, a V-2 missile was launched from Statenkwartier in The Hague in occupied Netherlands at 9:25 am by Germany’s Battery 485. My father was almost killed when it struck London a few minutes later. My 50 year career was enabled by that V-2. A direct descendant, a Saturn V, designed by the same V-2 team, placed Americans on the Moon. The other day, yet another direct descendant, the SpaceX Starship, leapt above the sky. I originally wrote this story in 2019 as the Apollo 11 anniversary approached. Humanity now lives in space permanently. Our spacecraft have left the solar system. Our space telescopes look back to the beginning of time. We are spacefarers. Space technology has its roots in weapons of war. America’s early accomplishments in space were achieved with direct use of Nazi technology and personnel. Russia followed a similar path. Today North Korea, Iran, Russia and other nations use rocket designs with a clear lineage originating with Hitler’s V-2. All technology is iterative. Smart technology persists and finds peaceful uses despite its war making origins.

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  • NASA Watch
  • March 18, 2024
Starship Launch Coverage
Starship Launch Coverage

Keith’s Note: I was part of Bloomberg radio / video live coverage of the SpaceX IFT3 Starship launch on Thursday morning. Update: Wow. Simply WOW. The booster was lost before engines could be lit to begin a “landing” attempt in the ocean. The Ship 28 itself made it into space but was lost during reentry when both the Starling and TDRSS telemetry feeds stopped simultaneously. But the Pez door opened and the prop transfer commands were issued. More to follow. I’ll be on Deutsche Welle just after noon EDT. Update: Here’s the [audio] I did a CTV interview too [audio]

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  • NASA Watch
  • March 14, 2024
NASAWatch On Scripps: The Future of Space
NASAWatch On Scripps: The Future of Space

Keith’s Note: I did an interview on Scripps news tonight about the politics of space. Here’s the audio. Funny thing – as they were setting up the piece I heard another guest talking and recognizing the voice I said LEROY! – yup. It was my friend Leroy Chiao. Alas we were stacked guests – one after the other – but they did a “bump” shot before we were on and you can see us smiling away waiting to be interviewed. Next time Leroy.

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  • NASA Watch
  • March 12, 2024
NASA’s Budget Request Sucks – Its Space Exploration Shrinkflation
NASA’s Budget Request Sucks – Its Space Exploration Shrinkflation

Keith’s note: True to form, overt politico Senator Administrator Bill Nelson D-FL said “As history has proven, as the present has shown, and as the future will continue to demonstrate, an investment in NASA is an investment in America for the benefit of humanity,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “President Biden’s budget will fund our nation’s abilities and leadership for the future of space exploration, scientific discovery, cutting-edge technology, climate data, the next generation of aeronautics, and inspiring our future leaders – the Artemis Generation.” This is, of course, nonsense since NASA’s budget overruns/delays on Artemis, Mars Sample Return etc. have already begin to eat up other projects. An insufficient FY 25 budget simply makes things worse. Remember just a few years ago the NASA mantra was “Journey to Mars” in the 2030s. Well, the new variant – NASA “Moon to Mars” thing now only shows the Moon – no Mars – in the 2030s. Negative progress – indeed its space exploration Shrinkflation. Clicking your heels together, crossing your fingers, and whistling “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” ain’t gonna solve anything, Bill. NASA’s plans are royally screwed. And the Artemis Generation will not witness all the happy talk you continue to throw their way. I guess that Moon rock is not in the Oval Office anymore.

Artemis shifts to the right yet again.
Artemis shifts to the right yet again.
  • According to Marcia Smith @SpcPlcyOnline {see chart above} From NASA budget summary, latest Artemis schedule. SpaceX Starship HLS test in 2026, same year as Artemis III landing. Artemis V, first use of Blue Origin’s HLS, now in 2030.
  • According to @Lori_Garver The @POTUS ’25 @NASA budget of $25.38B is ~$2.5B less than projected last year. Along w/ congressional cut of $2.3B for 2024, the agency’s growth trend is now reversed. Absorbing these reductions w/out cancelling major programs will cause delays across the board. Tough choices.
  • The Coalition for Deep Space Exploration put out a statement that only expresses concern about human spaceflight – not all the other things NASA does.
  • In a 7 March Statement the Planetary Society only focuses on space science – and not human spaceflight
  • Here are the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request documents posted by NASA. Read them and weep.
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  • NASA Watch
  • March 11, 2024
Personal Things On Board Odysseus – Resting On The Moon
Personal Things On Board Odysseus – Resting On The Moon

Keith’s note: A few weeks ago a robotic explorer named Odysseus completed a journey – one not unlike its mythological human namesake undertook – and struggled ashore at the south pole of the Moon. While injured and out of sorts for a while, Odysseus managed to accomplish much of what it had been tasked to do – starting with a precision landing in a place no human or droid has ever visited before. The way that Odysseus made it to the lunar surface involved some truly heroic thinking the mission control team – rather fitting for a space droid named after a hero.

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  • NASA Watch
  • March 11, 2024
103 Ways To Say Water In Space
103 Ways To Say Water In Space

Keith’s note: I have been living with the image in my mind of the Pioneer plaques and Voyager Golden Records heading across the outer solar system and into interstellar space for half a century. To me, that was the most Carl Sagan – of Carl Sagan – ideas. All these years later – despite its Disco era origins – it transcends time well – which is exactly what you want a message to the inhabitants of another solar system to embody. Well, NASA just did something as cool – and in some ways even cooler. More at An Astrobiology Droid Asks And Answers ‘How Many Ways Can You Say Water’?

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  • NASA Watch
  • March 9, 2024
Spaceship Endeavour Is In Orbit
Spaceship Endeavour Is In Orbit

Keith’s note: Crew 8 lifted off on time tonight and is now in orbit. They’ll be arriving at the International Space Station on Tuesday. I was on Bloomberg radio twice today and then on BBC World News TV [AUDIO] to provide some pre- and post-launch commentary. One thing that I noticed – and made mention of – are the names of the spacecraft involved. NASA TV’s hosts talked about the Crew Dragon “Endeavour” – which was named after Space Shuttle “Endeavour”. The Apollo 15 command module also named “Endeavour”. But NASA PAO seems to be uninterested in mentioning that these spaceships of exploration had a historic namesake i.e. Capt. James Cook’s H.M.S. Endeavour. Note that NASA kept the English spelling of Cook’s ship in all of the spacecraft named after it. Also, the Crew Dragon already in space and docked to ISS that will bring some of the current occupants home is named “Endurance” after Sir Ernest Shackleton’s famous antarctic exploration ship “Endurance” – which was recently re-discovered on the Antarctic seabed. NASA refers to these crew stays on ISS as “expeditions”. It would be nice if someone in NASA PAO synched up their commentary so as to remind the public about actual historic resonances with ships of exploration – especially as we prepare to return to the Moon – to explore. Just sayin’.

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  • NASA Watch
  • March 3, 2024
Will Mars Sample Return Ever Return A Mars Sample?
Will Mars Sample Return Ever Return A Mars Sample?

Keith’s note: Mars Sample Return, however well-intentioned and lauded by advisory committees, has been tossed around and modified and rescheduled so many times that it is no longer clear what it should do – or if it is even needed. It has always been somewhat gospel that NASA would not send human crews to Mars until a sample return mission had allowed the question of current life to be addressed. The current scenario has a Mars sample return to Earth in 2033 and (one would guess) basic findings a year later. A decade ago NASA talked about sending humans to Mars in the mid 2030s. Now it is the 2040s. Given the increasingly slow pace and out of control costs with which NASA develops human spaceflight capabilities, in order to meet a mid 2040s goal, basic mission design and hardware development needs to happen shortly after the sample comes back to Earth. Add in recent JPL layoffs, private plans by SpaceX et al to simply go there regardless of a sample return mission, and China’s plans to do sample return sooner than the U.S., and the entire NASA Mars Sample Return paradigm has become hopelessly clouded and conflicted. Given incredible advances in nanotechnology and genomics perhaps it is time to consider in situ life detection missions that actually look for life instead of sniffing around the edges. Here is what NASA OIG said the other day:

  • The trajectory of the MSR Program’s life-cycle cost estimate, which has grown from $2.5 to $3 billion in July 2020, to $6.2 billion at KDP-B in September 2022, to an unofficial estimate of $7.4 billion as of June 2023 raises questions about the affordability of the Program. Characteristics intrinsic to big and complex missions like the MSR Program are hard to quantify in estimates but can drive project costs upwards throughout development. These include fully understanding the mission’s complexity, initial over-optimism, a less than optimal design/architecture, and the team’s ability to perform to expectations. When developing its cost and schedule estimate for KDP-C, and as the MSR Program addresses its architecture issues, Program management must consider these intrinsic characteristics and not attribute past cost growth to just the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, or supply chain issues.
  • Additionally, MSR Program formulation is impacted by coordination challenges between NASA and ESA. While communication processes are formally documented and being followed, NASA and ESA are experiencing issues related to schedule transparency, asynchronous design progress, and mass allocation, which appear to stem from differing operational approaches, acquisition strategies, and agency funding mechanisms. The CCRS project team noted that significant progress has been made addressing interface issues between the two entities.
  • The MSR Program recently acknowledged it likely cannot meet the life-cycle cost estimate and launch dates established at KDP-B. A September 2023 report by an Independent Review Board recommended the Program consider modifications to specific mission designs. Accordingly, it is critical that before the MSR Program is approved to proceed from formulation into development, viable alternatives to the Program’s mission architecture are considered—including mission launch and sample return alternatives—as well as the value of the samples returned, the Program’s schedule, life-cycle cost estimate, and the Agency’s historic leadership position in space exploration.
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  • NASA Watch
  • March 1, 2024
NASA Finally Kills OSAM-1 Long After It Needed To Be Halted
NASA Finally Kills OSAM-1 Long After It Needed To Be Halted

Keith’s note: According to a late Friday blog post NASA said that it “has decided to discontinue the On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 (OSAM-1) project due to continued technical, cost, and schedule challenges, and a broader community evolution away from refueling unprepared spacecraft, which has led to a lack of a committed partner.” Well, DUH. As if that was not already blatantly obvious. This is what NASA OIG said 6 months ago. “The spacecraft bus and SPIDER contracts are FFP with no incentive or award fee. Therefore, NASA lacks the flexibility to use monetary incentives to recognize and reward contractor performance that exceeds meeting basic contract requirements.” Double DUH. How many years and hundreds of millions did it take before NASA finally yielded to the obvious? That internal NASA review process itself ought be examined by OIG. Just sayin’.

  • OSAM-1 cost growth and schedule delays are exacerbated by poor contractor performance and continued technical challenges. After rebaselining its cost and schedule in April 2022, the OSAM-1 project continues to experience cost growth and it now appears the Agency will exceed its current $2.05 billion price tag and the December 2026 launch date commitment to Congress. Development of the servicing payload—the system responsible for rendezvous and refueling Landsat 7—has continued to cost more and take longer than anticipated. Moreover, much of the project’s cost growth and schedule delays can be traced to Maxar’s poor performance on the spacecraft bus and SPIDER contracts with each deliverable approximately 2 years behind schedule. We found the structure of these FFP contracts does not provide NASA adequate flexibility to incentivize Maxar to improve its performance. Consequently, NASA is providing personnel and services to supplement Maxar’s efforts to mitigate contractor performance issues and reduce further impacts to the project’s cost and schedule. Additionally, because NASA continues to pay Landsat 7 operation costs through the on- orbit mission, extended launch delays for OSAM-1 will increase these costs as well.
  • Due to Maxar’s poor performance, NASA is providing unplanned labor and services to supplement Maxar’s efforts to develop OSAM-1’s spacecraft bus. Specifically, between January 2022 and May 2023 NASA provided labor, such as assistance with flight software and systems engineering support, valued at approximately $2 million to help reduce impacts to the mission schedule. According to project officials, supplementing Maxar’s efforts was necessary to reduce risk to the overall project schedule. At the same time, Agency project managers have not modified the spacecraft bus contract to decrease its value to account for the supplemental labor provided by NASA. Instead of making the changes to the contract’s SOW with corresponding adjustments to the contract value, the project is tracking the supplemental government-provided labor using an informal document referred to by the project as a “puts and takes” list that describes the supplements to Maxar and their associated dollar values.
  • The spacecraft bus and SPIDER contracts are FFP with no incentive or award fee. Therefore, NASA lacks the flexibility to use monetary incentives to recognize and reward contractor performance that exceeds meeting basic contract requirements. For example, the government uses award fees to motivate positive contractor performance, and conversely, these fees are not paid when a contractor’s overall cost, schedule, and technical performance is below satisfactory. In our discussions with senior leadership at Goddard, OSAM-1 Standing Review Board members, and procurement officials, each group agreed that the lack of an incentive or award fee on the contracts has limited NASA’s ability to improve contractor performance. According to the Standing Review Board Chair at the time of the mission’s Critical Design Review, the contract structure lacked the ability to incentivize the contractor’s performance, particularly in cases such as this where the contractor is not profiting from the contract due to its FFP nature and cost and schedule overruns. In our discussions with Maxar officials, they acknowledged that they were no longer profiting from their work on OSAM-1.
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  • NASA Watch
  • March 1, 2024
Dick Truly
Dick Truly

Keith’s note: Shortly after I moved to Washington DC, Dick Truly became NASA Administrator. I did not really know him but I regularly bumped into him – as in constantly. More than once it was at a barbershop next to the “Reporter’s” building next to the railroad tracks across from old NASA HQ. If I came into work on weekends I often saw him arrive/depart at NASA HQ in what I seem to recall to have been a sporty white BMW. Then one time I arrived at Houston Hobby airport and there was no rental car for me. One of his staff heard me and offered me a ride – with Truly – down to JSC. He was busy but we chatted and I mentioned that I had worked at Rockwell Downey and was the Sign Language interpreter for the STS-2 crew visit – which he missed due to a family matter. I always thought that he was a very approachable and totally normal guy. Here’s the NASA PAO statement. Ad Astra Dick Truly

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  • NASA Watch
  • February 28, 2024
IM-1 Lands On The Moon
IM-1 Lands On The Moon

Keith’s note: IM-1 landing has landed. My lunar landing talking head dance card for today (so far):

  • 6:00 am BBC 5 Live radio
  • 8:00 am KTRH radio
  • 1:50 pm Bloomberg radio/TV [Audio]
  • 2:20 pm Alhurra TV [Audio]
  • 4:20 Bloomberg radio/TV
  • 5:30 BBC 5 Live radio
  • 6:00 pm Deutsche Welle TV [Audio]
  • 6:30 pm CGTN (cancelled – overlap)
  • 6:20 Bloomberg – Live landing
  • 7:00 pm ARD TV
  • 8:00 pm Deutsche Welle TV [Audio]
  • 8:30 pm BBC World Service scrubbed
  • (Friday) 2:00 pm CGTN scrubbed
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  • NASA Watch
  • February 22, 2024
NASA Is Not Part Of The OSTP Tech Road Show
NASA Is Not Part Of The OSTP Tech Road Show

Keith’s note: According to this OSTP Fact Sheet: Biden-⁠Harris Administration to Kick off Fourth Investing in America Tour to Highlight How the President Is Delivering for Communities in Every Corner of America: “Throughout the Investing in America tour, President Biden, Vice President Harris, First Lady Jill Biden, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, Cabinet members, and Senior Administration Officials will visit communities across the country where the President is cutting costs for American families, growing our clean energy economy, rebuilding our infrastructure, and creating good-paying jobs along the way. To date, the Administration has now launched over 50,000 infrastructure and clean energy projects and mobilized over $640 billion in private sector clean energy and manufacturing investments.” Alas, NASA is mentioned nowhere in this fact sheet. The fact sheet points to a Brookings Institution report – which also makes no mention of NASA or space. Remember the early days of this Administration when the President pointed out a Moon rock in the oval office? Looks like NASA has lost its mojo. As for the National Space Council – which is supposed to worry about these sort of things – nothing but crickets.

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  • NASA Watch
  • February 16, 2024
NASA’s Astrobiology PR Team Needs A Refresh
NASA’s Astrobiology PR Team Needs A Refresh

Keith’s note: I guess its nice that NASA’s Astrobiology program officially emails info about job openings – in Norway. It might be a little more appropriate to start sending out info on job openings – in the U.S. – for all the people being laid off at NASA JPL and NASA Goddard. Meanwhile at the official NASA Astrobiology website the top story is about a undergraduate fellowship with a due date of 2 February 2024 – almost 2 weeks ago. Why bother being accurate. Just sayin’

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  • NASA Watch
  • February 14, 2024
Becoming A Spacefaring Species
Becoming A Spacefaring Species

Keith’s note: We threw away Mir to make room for ISS since “there could be only one”. Just remember: once we splash ISS its capability – and decades of blood, sweat & tears – will become a coral reef. If we’re not creative enough to build permanent things in space then we will never truly become a spacefaring species. Just sayin’

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  • NASA Watch
  • February 14, 2024
Tough Times Ahead
Tough Times Ahead

Keith’s note: I tossed out some tweets out today on @NASAWatch about the layoff and budget situation. The President’s FY 2025 budget will drop on 11 March. It is not going to have much – if any – good news. Mostly bad news that will pit one part of NASA against another. Lots of things will be cut – to the point that some rather draconian decisions will need to be made. Whatever happens please don’t give up on your space dreams.

  • When the FY25 budget request from the White House drops we’ll all be seeing that exploration i.e. #Artemis has a much higher priority than does science at #NASA Its not just math but also what @NASA 9th floor sees as priorities and what issues they have to face on Capitol Hill.
  • NASA budget math: Look at #Mars Sample Return & what they got ~$600m has to come from somewhere assuming no more bad news. But there will be bad news when WH FY25 budget request drops. MSR $ will have to come from somewhere like Dragonfly/Earth Science or no MSR. Its math folks.
  • While the folks at @NASAJPL got hit first with layoffs first they will soon be coming to @NASAGoddard and since civil servants will likely be involved it’ll be time for a #RIF. Again this is budget math folks. If the money ain’t there then @NASA can’t spend it.
  • Meanwhile we have #ISS ops to pay until 2030 then $1-2 billion to dump it into the ocean. Meanwhile fund @Axiom_Space &/or @OrbitalReef &/or @Starlab_Space LEO space stations while also building #Gateway lunar space station and & human missions to the Moon at $2-4 billion a pop.
  • Strange thing is – @NASA loves to talk about all that science goodness that humans will do on the Moon and Mars yet they are going to cut a lot of that off at the knees. What will the #Artemis crews do when they get there? Flags & footprints?
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  • NASA Watch
  • February 13, 2024
Brad Downs
Brad Downs

“James Bradley Downs, Jr., 99, of Titusville FL went to be with the Lord on February 10th, 2024. … Brad joined Brown Engineering as a contract employee in Huntsville, Alabama in 1959 and was soon picked up by NASA. In 1965 Brad moved his family to Titusville, FL to continue work on Apollo. During 24 years at NASA, he contributed to the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Apollo-Soyuz, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs.” Ad Astra Brad. More info

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  • NASA Watch
  • February 13, 2024
Heads Up JPL: Some Possible Job Openings
Heads Up JPL: Some Possible Job Openings

Keith’s note: just got this email: Mr. Cowing: I am very sorry to hear about the situation that is going on at JPL. I did want to share with you that the Naval Facilities Engineering Command has more than 100 current engineering vacancies, literally around the world. We manage the day to day construction, operation, and maintenance of the Navy’s shore establishment. The plant value of the facilities is slightly more than 1/2 trillion dollars. We have openings for most engineering disciplines. More senior positions do require registration. We have personnel in San Diego that are more than willing to speak with anyone that is potentially interested. I will be more than happy to pass along any information.
Sincerely,
Michael R. Keller, PE
Assistant Commander for Public Works (Acting)
NAVFAC HQ
202-374-0467
michael.r.keller3.civ – at – us.navy.mil

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  • NASA Watch
  • February 12, 2024