NASA Staff Meeting Minutes 2 March 1995

1. AA Reports

Z/Ladwig: On February 24, 1995, OSTP held a meeting to discuss the relevance of the 1989 National Space Policy, in light of the issuance of four new policy documents issued by the Clinton administration--ensuring that policies fit within the framework of the overarching policy. NASA will establish a small working group to ensure that our interests will be considered during the review, which is being conducted within a short timeframe.

E/Hall: Dr. Freeman is at DFRC today (February 27), delivering the closing address for Black History Month. Dr. Freeman has advised all elements of NASA that John Sturdivant, AFGE National President, has endorsed the NASA Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management Plan to the AFGE NASA Local Unions. Dr. Freeman has been requested to serve on President Clinton's Task Force on Affirmative Action. The Honorable Jesse Jackson will hold a press conference on March 1 on Affirmative Action. He has requested Dr. Freeman's attendance--other civil rights leaders will also be present. Dr. Freeman has also been asked to serve on a Republican Task Force that will be reporting directly to Senator Dole. Twenty-nine discrimination complaints have been filed during FY 1995. The leading bases are race/color and age. The leading issue is promotion. X/Reck: The Cooperative Agreement Notice for the X-33 and X-34 closed on February 24--four proposals for the X-33 and three proposals for the X-34 were received.

R/Henn: Senior management officials of the Office of Aeronautics met in Dallas, Texas, last week to discuss the strategy of restructuring the Aeronautics Enterprise, both internally and externally. Within the Enterprise, Code R will extend our existing cooperative efforts to create a national alliance of programs that leverage the collective resources of NASA, DOD, FAA, industry, and academia. The Aeronautics Enterprise is prepared to make bold moves that will require significant actions.

Q/Greenfield: The final report of the Shuttle-Mir Rendezvous Docking Task Force, led by General Stafford, has been completed. It should be forwarded to Mr. Goldin by March 1--no safety or flight issues.

Y/Townsend: As of February 25, GOES-7 completed 8 years of successful operations--3 years beyond projected expectancy. NOAA-J, scheduled for launch this spring as a replacement for GOES-7, was shipped to KSC last week. #254#

L/Lawrence: Mr. Goldin will be testifying before the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, on March 1. In addition to Mr. Goldin, Mr. Peterson and Dr. Cordova will also be at the witness table. Other supporting participants will be identified by close of business February 27. Mr. Lawrence submitted the February 27, 1995, Congressional Hearing Calendar (Enclosure).

P/Boeder: The Mars rover tests are receiving considerable media attention as well as the NASA internal "white paper." NASA will announce new selections for missions in the Discovery Program at 11 a.m. EST on February 28. Mr. Goldin's "Streamlining" address will be televised on NASA Select at 2 p.m. EST on February 28. The March 1 hearing will be taped and rebroadcast at a later date. The Hubble Space Telescope is on the cover of Time. Forty press personnel are signed up to witness the Thagard launch at Baikonur.

K/Thomas: Mr. Thomas stated that with the resultant budget-cutting efforts that the Small Disadvantaged Businesses may have to absorb some of the cuts; however, he requests that the cuts be done proportionately and fairly.

F/Armstrong: As a cost-cutting measure, the Presidential Rank Dinner has been cancelled this year. It is suggested that each Field Installation recognize their own recipients. Headquarters recipients will be recognized as part of the Headquarters Annual Awards Ceremony on April 12.

O/Force: NASA has awarded Hughes Aircraft Company a contract to design, build, and check out on-orbit three Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS). The contract will run through February 28, 2008. Mr. Force thanked personnel at Headquarters and GSFC for bringing the long-awaited contract to fruition.

I/Schumacher: There has been great concern voiced about the space project funding in Russia. On February 23, TASS reported "Duma calls for Guaranteed Funding of Space Projects." Duma hearings adopted a resolution to secure adequate financing of the Russian space industry in an amount no less than 1 percent of the gross domestic product and specify this amount in a special, protected line in the federal budget. The resolution was adopted after participants in the hearings were told that the funding of space programs in 1994 amounted to one-tenth of the 1989 spending in comparable prices and that the financing of the military space programs decreased 10 times. Speakers also said the production of space rocket equipment shrank by 10 times, and the plan for launches was fulfilled only by 50 percent last year. The resolution adopted at the hearings will permit, to at least prevent, the further worsening of the situation, if not to improve it. Mr. Goldin is scheduled to meet with the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Susanna Agnelli, on February 28. He is also scheduled to meet with Jean-Marie Luton on March 8.

2. AD/Dailey

Upcoming Senior Management Meetings to disscuss the Zero-Base Review are scheduled for April 18 and May 10. Mr. Goldin will only be in attendance at the May 10 meeting. The text of Mr. Goldin's remarks scheduled for 2 p.m. EST on February 28 will be faxed to the Field Installations today (February 27). Gen. Dailey asked Gen. Armstrong to state what the current buyout numbers were. Gen. Armstrong stated that we are just over 1,000.

3. Center Director Reports

ARC/Munechika: In concert with the JASON-VI Project, ARC is hosting over 8,000 attendees (students, teachers) over a 2-week period, beginning today (February 27), which features the Marsokhod rover within the center of Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano. Some students, participating from ARC, will have the opportunity to remotely drive the rover. The program is sponsored by Oracle, Pacific Telesis, and Bechtel.

GSFC/Klineberg: A commercial barge hit a 2-foot section of piling at Wallops. It has resulted in a single-lane access to the island--barge pilot unlicensed. EOS AM meeting held last week--everything looking good. GOES-J is at the Astro Tech facility at KSC. TDRS follow-on contract in effect. Continuing to work on getting the Pegasus qualified for flight status and back into the launch queue.

JPL/Stone: Last week, JPL hosted a 2-day technical review by members of the National Research Council who are investigating how JPL implements new technology into their missions. Also last week, Ed Fort and Norman Handy, North Carolina AT&T, met with members of the JPL staff to discuss development opportunities for their students. The Zero-Base Review will also be at JPL this week.

JSC/Huntoon: Preparations for the upcoming launch of STS-67 are continuing--crew is at

KSC. L-2 is scheduled for February 28. An incremental design review of the Space Station is to be conducted. A review by our international partners will be held at the end of March. JSC will also have students participating in the JASON-VI Project from the Mission Control Center.

KSC/Honeycutt: STS-67 countdown in progress--weather uncertain. The Department of Energy has sent a check in the amount of $186K for energy modifications for two buildings. KSC is hosting the Federal Women Program Managers this week.

LaRC/Holloway: Kraut-Kramer Branson (KB), the commercialization partner of LaRC- developed self-nulling probe technology, has completed production engineering of the handheld crack detector and entered the mass production phase. The unit price of the instrument is $1.5 K. KB is now beginning production design on a metal thickness gauge utilizing a prototype loaned by the Nondestructive Evaluation Sciences Branch. To dispel Reduction-in-Force (RIF) rumors, Susan Holland will brief all NASA LaRC employees on RIF procedures on February 28 .

LeRC/Campbell: LeRC's Just-In-Time Inventory Process was forwarded as an example of NASA's best practices to Vice President Gore's National Performance Review (NPR). On February 22, LeRC was contacted by the NPR, inquiring if the Just-In-Time Inventory Process could be included in their "Promising Practices Data base." LeRC agreed, and this data base should be available March 1 on the Internet. On February 17, the 2 kW Solar Dynamic (SD) Ground Test Demonstration (GTD) project completed a major milestone--operation of the SD GTD system, providing in excess of 2 kW electrical power ahead of schedule and within budget. Operation of the GTD system has resulted in about 40 hours of operation, including 16 start/stops--a significant achievement for both performance and operation of an SD system in a relevant environment. Testing has also included simulating Low Earth Orbit and achieving orbital stability.

4. AD/Dailey (continued)

Gen. Armstrong will take an action to correct and/or clarify information that is being circulated regarding severance pay during a RIF.

NOTE: ACTION ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE TRANSMITTED UNDER SEPARATE COVER AND TRACKED BY THE ADMINISTRATOR'S CORRESPONDENCE OFFICE. SPECIFIC ENCLOSURES MAY BE OBTAINED BY CONTACTING PAULETTE LOVINGOOD AT 358-0901