NASA Staff Meeting Minutes 5 June 1995

Staff Meeting Minutes 6/5/95
Date: 6/6/95 Minutes of Senior Staff and Center Directors’ Meeting June 5, 1995
The following documents the discussions addressed at the Senior Staff and Center Directors’ Meeting on June 5, 1995. Action assignments are bolded. Mr. Goldin was in attendance.

1. AA Reports
B/Holz: The budget guideline letter will be transmitted today (June 5).
I/Masters: The Science and Technology Agency of Japan advised that the Cross- Waiver Liability Agreement has been signed. Russia’s Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Yakobashvili will be visiting Washington and GSFC on June 7.
L/Lawrence: Two hearings are scheduled for June 13, 1995, before the Senate Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space, Chairman Conrad Burns (R-MT), Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee–NASA Inspector General confirmation of Roberta Gross and Mission To Planet Earth. Mr. Lawrence provided the Office of Legislative Affairs Congressional Hearing Calendar dated June 5, 1995, for the record (Enclosure). Markup of the Space Station Authorization bill, which includes multiyear funding, is expected to occur on June 7.
P/Boeder: The woodpecker story is receiving national and international press.
U/Nicogossian: On June 6, NASA and the National Foundation for Brain Research will hold a neuroscience and space symposium all day at the National Press Club. The symposium will also highlight NASA’s Neuroscience Research program, including Neurolab, a Space Shuttle mission scheduled for early 1998. A reception will be held later in the evening at the National Air and Space Museum.
J/Cooper: GAO has advised that there will be a review of Hispanic Employment in the Federal Government. The review will include not only other Government agencies but the private sector as well. A NASA point of contact has not been identified at this time.
Z/Ladwig: The next Senior Management Meeting for Strategic Planning will be held on July 26 and 27–location pending. The first draft review of the Government Performance Results Act will be released this week. The NASA Alumni League expressed their appreciation to all the Associate Administrators who briefed them on May 30. They were chagrined at the small Alumni turnout; however, they expressed their willingness to do whatever needs to be done.
2. AD/Dailey
Gen. Dailey advised that Connie Forsythe, Code I, sent out a memorandum on June 2 requesting input for an upcoming dinner between Gen. Fogleman, Air Force Chief of Staff, and Mr. Goldin on June 13. The focus of discussions will be mutual areas of interest and cooperation. Please respond promptly to his request and identify any additional topics that you may wish to propose for discussion–topics not restricted. Col. Richard Davis, Commander, USAF Phillips Laboratory, will be visiting NASA on June 7 to discuss his experience in setting up full-cost accounting. The session will be held in ACR 2 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. If you are interested in attending, contact Dick Kline at 358-4697 to ensure seating. Remember to support the Headquarters picnic on June 24 at the GSFC Recreation Center from 12 to 4 p.m.
3. Center Director Reports
ARC/Mr. Dean: Dr. Munechika is attending the Joint Advisory Committee of the NASA Aeronautics Advisory Committee, which includes the Federal Aviation Agency, in Reston on June 5 and 6. In March 1995, an NASA Research Announcement was issued announcing the first round of studies for the Advanced Air Transportation Technology Program. Seventy-two bids were received, and 20 contract awards, totaling over $10 million will be released. The XV-15 was bailed to Bell in 1994–Bell is sending to the Paris Air Show.
DFRC/Jarvis: The X-31 arrived at Le Bourget on June 3. A drag chute anomaly resulted in the pilot electing to jettison the chute and go around for a routine landing on the long runway, using braking only. DFRC and the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing the Alliance. Integrated Product Team (IPT) leads were assigned to begin developing proposals and plans for resource sharing beyond where the two organizations have cooperated in the past. The IPT’s cover areas of institution, operations, maintenance, technical support, business management, environment, and safety. The AFFTC and DFRC have a 50-year history of cooperation, and this Alliance will build on that record. DFRC signed an agreement on Western Mojave Technology Consortium. DFRC, AFFTC, the Phillips Lab, and Plant 42 were Government signers on June 2. The Antelope Valley Board of Trade and Antelope Valley College presidents signed, representing the private sector. This agreement will enhance technology transfer to the private sector and forms a local partnership to exploit skills, facilities, and capabilities in the local area. Dryden is installing equipment and networks to allow the Board of Trade and local community officials to communicate on the Worldwide Web for business, technology, and educational purposes. Gen. Dailey asked that a copy of the signed agreement be provided to use in their discussions with Gen. Fogleman. The CV-990 completes three high-speed tests. The tests were run to document the standing wave phenomena of the orbiter tire. Once again, CV-990 results were different from the dynamometer test results used as the data base previously. CV-990 data indicates considerably more margin. The 990 data has proven to be more applicable to the real environment than data from the dynamometer.
GSFC/Rothenberg: The Pegasus motors have been qualified–proceeding with the STEP launch.
JSC/Huntoon: Senator Glenn’s (D-OH) visit at the Center last week went well. The STS-71 crew training is on schedule. On June 6, Norm Thagard will break the record for the longest U.S. astronaut in space. Dr. Sam Ting is visiting JSC to discuss his proposal for a alphamagnetic spectrometer experiment on the Space Station, as a joint NASA/Department of Energy mission.
KSC/Honeycutt: Discovery’s (STS-70) rollback is scheduled for June 8. Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA) visited KSC last week.
LeRC/Barna: The Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) acceleration data, taken on the Mir spacecraft, was used by the international Space Station program to calculate the disturbance frequencies that could be expected when the Shuttle is mated to Mir during Shuttle Mir-04 Phase I Risk-Mitigation Flight (August 1996). The prototype unit of the Active Rack Isolation System (ARIS) will undergo its risk mitigation experiment during this mission. ARIS is an Active Vibration Reduction System designed to provide the required microgravity environment. The analysis, conducted by Boeing/NASA Huntsville, using the SAMS data taken aboard the Mir, provided by NASA Lewis in conjunction with a Mir model, provided by the Russian Space Agency, and Shuttle model indicated that the disturbance frequencies of the mated configuration should be low enough to provide the appropriate test for ARIS. This approach eliminates the need to manifest a separate rack external excitation system. In addition, it ensures that the disturbance data acquired during the test is representative of Space Station disturbances.
4. AD/Dailey (continued):
The fifth Administrator’s Seminar, “Sustaining Life on the Earth,” is scheduled for today (June 5) in the NASA Headquarters Auditorium from 3 to 5 p.m.
5. A/Goldin
Norm Thagard’s record-breaking accomplishment of being the longest U.S. astronaut in space is no small feat. This points out why we need to continue with the Space Station program, and the launch of STS-71, tentatively scheduled for June 24, is another major step in that direction. These are not isolated events; however, the conduciveness is not coming across–we need to be more aggressive in depicting the correlation. I was on the west coast last week; the X-33 program is real, and I am more and more convinced that the X-33 will replace our current launch system. MDAC can have an all-composite tank ready in 17 days, hardware is stunning. The contractors are almost ready to go–industry has gotten the message. He advised a note of caution during these difficult times. People are positioning with Congress and industry–staking claims to the NASA budget. Management needs to be alert, and employees do not need to panic. On a regular basis, Associate Administrators and Center Directors should communicate with the employees to ensure that employees are not unduly incited from various venues that are trying to create an unfavorable situation within NASA. Shuttle safety is number one priority. We have a plan–the Zero-Base Review plan. We, as management, need to assume responsibility and accountability, to help employees through these difficult times. We do not want the morale of our employees to be used to win political battles. The Congressional Quarterly is already stating that the Space Station is in jeopardy.
The enemies of the space program will use whatever means to cause dissention–we must hang together.
6. AD/Dailey (continued):
If anyone has any suggestions on how we can communicate better, contact Laurie Boeder, Code P. Feedback is important for us to understand and resolve employee concerns.