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Election 2012

Mike Griffin, Romney Space Advisor

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
January 27, 2012
Filed under , ,

Mitt Romney would have fired Mike Griffin: Is Romney Already Being Trapped By Unsustainable Space Interests?, Space Frontier Foundation
“During last night’s Republican presidential debate, Governor Mitt Romney stated that “a moonbase would be an enormous expense,” and later stated that if someone had come to him saying they had wanted to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, he would’ve said “You’re fired.” Today, it was revealed that former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin is member of the Romney Space Policy Advisory Group. This is the same NASA Administrator who was the chief architect of an unaffordable and unsustainable plan to return humans to the Moon that would have cost about $200 Billion.”
Former NASA chief Mike Griffin backs Mitt Romney for president, Houston Chronicle
“GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney won the endorsement of former NASA administrator Mike Griffin on Friday, days before voters in Florida and along the famed Space Coast cast their ballots in the hotly contested GOP presidential primary.”
Last man on moon, other space leaders backing Romney, MSNBC
“Players in the commercial space industry, including Eric Anderson, chairman and chief executive officer of space tourism firm Space Adventures; and Mark Albrecht, chairman of the board of satellite communications provider USSpace, also signed the letter. Other signers include Scott Pace, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University (who also serves as chairman of the Romney Space Policy Advisory Group); Peter Marquez, former director of space policy for the National Security Council; and William Martel, professor of International Security Studies at Tufts University.”

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.

20 responses to “Mike Griffin, Romney Space Advisor”

  1. Anonymous says:
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    Romney is not my ideal choice for the GOP candidate, but he sure beats what we have in the White House now.

    • Nothing Much says:
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       And what makes you think that? What did Romney do in the private sector? He put a little bit of money into an enterprise in order to buy a seat at the corporate board, he then had that company borrow an awful lot of money (taking a cut of the borrowings for himself.), investing it in the company in order to make it look good in the short term, then, sell it taking another cut for himself. Then moving on. How is that different from what the government does to us with excessive borrowing? Really, how is Obama different than any of the Republicans? Health care? I sure hope you are up on recent past events to understand that the national health care program you fear so much was adopted from Romney’s plan when he was gov of Mass 1:1. Wars? Come on, has Romney said anything to indicate he has any strategic insight in the upheaval in the balance of power in the world, or what caused it? How can you say that there is any difference in Romney’s space policy when he says, “Im going to gather experts and let them decide.” That was Obama’s policy when he got around to it. Romney has no space policy, you’re either going to get Obama tweaked, or Bush II. Now there’s something to say for that. Esp if you are part of the establishment. Has Romney or any of his team members said or done anything that will close ‘the gap’ in human space flight? Really, under Bush we were going to have a gap until 2016 as it was already. Do you really think the Bush program was going to close it earlier? Go ahead and vote for Romney for any reason, but not because you have any real indication he’s any different than Obama.

    • Daniel Woodard says:
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      If you approach politics with the position that one party represents “good” and the other represents “evil”, why bother even asking who the candidates are? This is not the way Democracy works.

    • no one of consequence says:
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      Actually he sounds like Obama to me with the “”I’m not going to come here today and tell you precisely what the mission will be” line. That sounds like flexible path to me.

      Gingrich, like it or not,  is straight up, in no way ambiguous about a moon settlement – you’ll never hear those words from Obama. With a specific deadline time.

      Now, you can claim that Gingrich is like Obama with support for commercial space, but really this is more about contradictions on the right with ideology rather than anything else.

      How do we know he can get policy through Congress any better than Bush or Obama. The fundamental problem isn’t the presidency but the inability to sell a consistently fund-able policy with near term development results that keep the public engaged in exploration.

    • Unknown says:
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      Where is the money going to come from to pay for a grandiose space program?  Taxes, Defense cuts, Medicare & Social Security Cuts??????

      Gingrich does not talk about where he gets the funds to pay for this.  He sounds much like Lyndon LaRouche

      Romney ridiculed Gingrich’s plans and supports commercial space similar to where things are currently heading.
      Whom knows where Romney really stands as he will flip his position as necessary to satisfy the audience he addresses.

  2. Saturn1300 says:
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    One thing that I like that Griffin did was COTS-D.Too bad he and the Congress did not fund it.I see that the next Soyuz capsule cracked when they pressurized it.So another delay in crew transport to ISS.I suggested long ago that this next Dragon flight be used to test Crew.They should have left the windows in.Instead of a mock-up of the interior that is due now,install it in the capsule that will launch.If you look at the picture they have out,there is plenty of room left for the little cargo they will carry.If Soyuz keeps having problems,maybe a fire will be lit under NASA and they will have to speed up DragonRyder.One thing I was worried about Dragon was putting the parachutes outside.How about heat?Do a search for Dragon.There is a picture of the other side of the capsule that is normally not shown.It is burnt all the way up.Either the parachutes are not on that side or are insulated enough.This was caused by the lifting reentry.If ballistic it would be equal and would not burn way up.This may be why they took the windows out.Will have to have windows on one side and make sure it is coming in upright.  
    DragonRyder could be ready in 6mo. if they wanted to.Work 24/7.Work as many people that doesn’t get in each other way.Install 1,2,3 or 4 zero ejection seats.Fire off ejection seats untill everyone is happy.Cheap testing.No worry about maxQ.Shut down engines,after enough altitude and separate using thrusters.Good for backup of mains.Land in ocean.Find some doctors that doesn’t get seasick to be waiting.This would be the A model.The next one could have the fancy abort rockets.Cheap.Fast.
    The Minority head of the House Science Committee said she was worried about Soyuz backup.This will work.Not much power,but she would have more pull with the Pres. than I would.The head of the Senate Science Committee said she was the one that got ISS made a National Laboratory.Nobody on board and it would not be much of a laboratory.She did not support COTS-D,but there is still time to support my scheme.Mine would be safer and fast.SpaceX said their abort system was approved.Was that with ballistic parachutes or ejection seats to use if the rockets shut off at the wrong time?If not,I will never support it.

    • Vladislaw says:
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      The Vision for Space Exploration called for commercial crew and cargo before Griffin came on board. Griffin didn’t come up with cots, it was there before he got there.

      • kcowing says:
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        Agree with Donald – Griffin walked into commercial crew and cargo planning that was well under way.

    • DTARS says:
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      I sure wish they would get a dragon rider up there before the LAS is finished too. We need some good old Gemmi type flying practice for a little confidense I think.

  3. Joe Cooper says:
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    Romney had a good line about it.

    “I’m not going to come here today and tell you precisely what the mission will be. I’m going to tell you who I’m going to give it to.” 
     
    In other words, he’s going pork it; make sure some nonsense runs so that money is funneled to certain states.

    Sure sounds Griffinesque.

  4. sch220 says:
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    I thought more highly of Romney before this. When Romney mentioned that he would fire anyone who brought in the idea of building a Moon base, all I could think of was Griffin being shown the door with a big footprint on his keester.

  5. Michael Spencer says:
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    Don’t make this stuff up anymore, Keith! It confuses us out here in Reader Land!

  6. DTARS says:
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    Mr. Consequence

    The professor I was thinking about in the reply I left Mr. Wingo in the dumps on Gingrich thread is you. Just trying to improve my good question percentage lol

    Parallel lines

    Has anyone heard from tinker/Mr. Coyote? Starting to wonder if he got himself in trouble opening another ACME crate?

  7. DTARS says:
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    While trying to catch up on my NASA reading I just learned I’m a futurist. Not only that but if I decide to disagree with Mr. Gingrich I could be an ELETE Futurist.

  8. nasa817 says:
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    Two words come to mind when I hear Mike Griffin’s name, “idiot savant.”

  9. Steve Whitfield says:
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    Mike Griffin, Romney Space Advisor.  The blind leading the blind.

    Steve