Keith’s note: So much of what a large agency such as NASA does on any given day seems to just happen by itself. As for how the agency itself is actually run – especially on a moment by moment basis – by the person at the top is a mystery to nearly all.

13 March 2003: Important Notice to all NASA LaRC Contractors “The Center’s Deputy Chief Financial Officer for Finance has determined that it is prudent to make early payments prior to closing the legacy financial system. Invoices received between April 16 and May 7, 2003, will not be subject to the Prompt Payment Act waiting period and will be paid early.”

12 March 2004: Significant role ahead for Marshall on new craft, Huntsville Times “Retired Navy Rear Adm. Craig Steidle, head of NASA’s new Office of Exploration Systems, stopped short of promising that the Crew Exploration Vehicle, or CEV, program would be managed in Huntsville – like its predecessor, the Orbital Space Plane.” 10 March 2004: CEV Fly off in 2008? Editor’s note: Word has it that Code T AA Craig […]

9 March 2004: House Science Committee Democrats Release Their Views and Estimates Report“Recommendation #2: Until the Congress has better information on which to judge the long-term cost of the President’s Moon/Mars initiative, we believe that NASA’s FY 2005 funding request should be reallocated in a manner that strengthens NASA’s existing programs, helps address the backlog of deferred maintenance at NASA’s facilities, ensures that the Shuttle will continue to fly safely […]

11 March 2003: NASA OIG: NASA’S Reduction of Undefinitized Contract Actions, NASA OIG (link to full report) “We found that NASA had significantly reduced both the number and dollar amount of UCAs since the General Accounting Office highlighted them as one reason for identifying contract management as a major management challenge for NASA. By November 30, 2002, NASA had reduced the number of UCAs to 19 with a total estimated […]