NASA Presidental Transition Action Item Log

NASA Presidental Transition Action Item Log

Editor’s note: The following is an amalgam of several different versions of a document titled “Presidential Transition Action Item Log” provided by NASA sources this week. More than 80 specific requests to NASA by the Obama Transition Team are listed. This document is maintained by the PA&E (Program Analysis and Evaluation) Office at NASA HQ.

Obama Team Seeks Data on Possible Changes to Ares, Orion, Space News

“U.S. President-elect Barack Obama’s NASA transition team is asking U.S. space agency officials to quantify how much money could be saved by canceling the Ares 1 rocket and scaling back the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle next year.”

Editor’s note: The phone calls and emails are coming in from JSC, MSFC, and KSC. Additional Transition Team action items have made their way to the field centers. These requests seek information into costs that would be associated with Ares 1 cancellation, alternate ways to launch as reduced Orion including EELVs, foreign launch vehicles. Stay tuned – there will be more.

FYI Mike Griffin has made it abundantly clear that he would not stay at NASA if such changes to his architecture were to be recommended. As such it seems to be a virtual certainty that he’ll be departing – soon.