NASA Starts To Come Clean About DIRECT

What is the latest update on NASA’s Transportation Architecture? (DIRECT launch vehicle design)

“Over the last two years, NASA has performed feasibility assessments of the different DIRECT launch vehicle designs that have emerged. “These feasibility assessments are summarized in the attached white paper. The charts below detail the assessments of the DIRECT 2.0 concept (April – May 2007) and the updated DIRECT 2.0 (September 2007) and provide the background for the white paper.”

Doug Cooke Dumps on Direct Concept, Earlier Post (with FOIA request for documents such as these)

Is Steve Cook Being Less Than DIRECT About What NASA Is Doing?, Earlier Post

Constellation Update, Earlier Post

“Editor’s note: When I asked Steve Cook if any of his employees were working on the “Direct” or “Jupiter” project he said that he was not aware of that anyone was. When asked if this would be allowed during or after hours, he said that it would not and that this would be “unapproved” work.”

Editor’s note: Clearly Steve Cook either did not – or does not – know what his own people are doing while sitting at their desks. One of the MSFC documents released is dated May 2007 and is 70 pages long. Please tell me how Steve Cook overlooked or was unaware of this little effort by his staff? Either Cook is clueless as to what his staff is doing or he decided to be less than truthful when asked what they are doing. Either way, having someone managing one of NASA’s flagship development efforts who practices this level of official obfuscation and/or absentee management is troubling to say the least. Oh yes – this is the same guy who is telling us how well Ares development is going …

Take home message: the DIRECT fan boys should stick to their day jobs and leave bad rocket design to the professionals at NASA.