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Mark Uhran is Retiring From NASA

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
July 13, 2012
Filed under , ,

NASA Internal Memo: Mark Uhran is Retiring From NASA
“Dear Friends and Colleagues, It’s been an incredible honor to work with and for you over the past 28 years on space station utilization planning, engineering development and operations. Despite what some thought to be insurmountable obstacles, the global team prevailed to deliver one of the greatest engineering achievements and most capable laboratory complexes in history. It’s an icon for the power of relentless pursuit and exemplary of what great nations can do through peaceful cooperation.”
Keith’s note: I have known Mark for more than 20 years. Indeed, I used to work for him. While I have been critical of Mark and various aspects of space station utilization recently (because I think NASA can and should do better), I have to say that there were dark times when most of NASA really did not care if the space station was ever used – or was useful. During those long periods when budgets, assembly, and ops drove everything, Mark was one of the few who managed to keep the utilization spark alive within NASA. It will be interesting to see what he does with a fusion reactor at his disposal in his new position. Mark attached an interesting paper on space research-related patents with this departure message. I’m certain that it would not occur to CASIS that it would be useful to post it on their site.

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

22 responses to “Mark Uhran is Retiring From NASA”

  1. 2814graham says:
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    Mark always said he was interested in energy projects and I’m sure he will do well in Tennessee. But its a big loss for NASA; he was one of the few people who was really thinking utilization from the very start.  

  2. Anonymous says:
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    Good luck to Mark.  He certainly was the one to help keep the flame alive for a long time.

  3. Paul451 says:
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    Rubber chickens, stuffed coyotes. Colour me concerned.

    • Michael Spencer says:
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      Now see if I were a smart person I would know what the hell that means.

    • Steve Whitfield says:
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      Paul,

      I know it’s hard to care too much any more, everything considered. But, in all honesty, I certainly can’t blame Mark for making this move.  What I wonder is, is there anybody left now with even half a clue as to how to fill his shoes?  This whole ISS National Lab utilization mess could now get even worse, as unbelievable as that seems.  I think we need to remain concerned, no matter how disappointing it is, because the weakest link can always destroy the whole chain, and we still need NASA to succeed, despite what some say.

      Steve

      • Paul451 says:
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        Steve, it was a reference to the previous post, “NASA Uses A Dead Chicken To Release Space Weather News”, and then the weird picture in this post.

      • npng says:
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        Steve, I’ll guess you’re a man of honesty, honor, vision, integrity, hard work, and conviction.  So imagine for a moment that you’ve spent 28 years building an extraordinary home.  A mansion, the only one of its kind in the World.  And after all of those long decades, just when it’s completed and can be truly lived in and used to great fruitfulness, you decide to abandon it.  Tell me, why would you do that???  What in you, what external events or energies could possibly drive you to abandon endless decades of hard work, your life’s work?

        Don’t ask me, I’m at a loss.  Given avoidance-approach, the only thing I can come up with is either an amazing other attraction pulled you away or something deeply hideous, disingenuous and evil drove you away.  Now which one?  Think really hard now. Which one would it be?

        • Steve Whitfield says:
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          npng,

           I’ve never spoken to Mark, let alone discussed this issue with him, but I can imagine possibilities. Consider that Mark is a man with the attributes that you list in your post; imagine that he has been doing a good job, doing it as well as he can, day in and day out, because he’s conscientious and because he cares about the work.

           Imagine, now, that he has to work with other people who do not demonstrate those same attributes, but rather are people with less experience and/or knowledge than he, but erroneously believe that they actually know more and know better than Mark, and therefore don’t work with him, but rather frustrate his efforts. And let’s assume that, for whatever contractual reasons, there’s nothing he can do about it. Not much fun.

           Or, consider what I suspect is a more likely scenario, it’s the people that he reports to (or must take direction from) who don’t know what they’re doing, and despite his best efforts to enlighten and educate them, he’s been forced for a growing period of time to do things and use methods that he knows are not the right ones, but, again, there’s nothing he can do about it. He knows that things will only continue to go down hill.

           Whether his situation has been similar to one of these, or something else frustrating altogether, how long can one person keep their head on straight going through it, day after day, with no hope of change? A situation like this doesn’t just affect your work; you take it home with you every day and it affects your family, too, and your health, no matter how determined you are not to let it. At that point, it‘s time for change, if not in fairness to yourself, then at the very least in consideration for your family.

           And just to rub salt in the wound, who’s name keeps showing up in the blogs associated with the National Lab/CASIS/ISS Utilization problem issues? It’s not any of the people whom I hypothesize are the source of the problems; it’s always Mark’s name, and almost always his alone.

           I don’t know if any of this has the slightest relation to the facts, but it’s my response to your honest, well-considered post. To anyone who’s never been in a situation resembling either of the possibilities I’ve described, they may seem far-fetched and unlikely; but those of us who have been through them (or something similar) know painfully well how a really great, exciting job can unexpectedly turn into a daily hell when the wrong people are added into the mix. It hurts all the more when the work you were doing, until things fell apart, was work you were very proud of.

           Putting together the very limited facts that have come to us through NASA Watch, my suspicion is that Mark was faced with a situation not unlike my second example above (I say suspicion, because I have no business whatever making any assumptions in what is a very personal matter). So, if Mark has been dealing with a situation of the nature I suspect/suggest, then, as I said before, I don’t blame him for moving on if another opportunity has arisen. It’s not about abandoning the job; it’s about respecting himself and consideratin for the people in his life. Let’s hope people will remember Mark for the good work that he did while there instead of the fact that he didn’t stay forever.

           These are just my thoughts on the matter.

           Steve

          • npng says:
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            I’m impressed.  I should have started with “highly insightful” as your first attribute.   It is as though you had surveillance cameras running in every room for the last decade.

          • Steve Whitfield says:
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            npng,

             If I’m interpreting your response correctly, then it appears you know a lot more about the situation than I do (of course, I know nothing at all about it, so that’s a given). If you’ve been a part of what’s been going on, or not going on as the case may be, then you’re having to wade through all of the frustration day after day yourself, so you have my best wishes, and my respect for sticking it out. In the long run, however, remember that we work to live, we don’t live to work.

             Steve

          • MarkUhran says:
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            Steve,

            I don’t know who you are, but it’s surprising how you have managed to read
            this situation with very limited hard information (unlike others who don’t seem to need any facts to draw clueless conclusions). I would like to speak with you and maybe one day we could get together. I suspect you have had a similar experience(s)…

            Mark Uhran

          • Steve Whitfield says:
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            Mark,

             I debated making any comments on this issue, since it is obviously a personal matter, but I wanted to stress the fact that I was only guessing, without any facts, about a personal matter, in the hope that others would realize that they had been doing the same. I consider it a mighty poor return for all your years of hard work.

             Keith should have my email address as part of my registration data, and he obviously thinks well of you, so maybe he can oblige us (I never post my addresses publicly). I live in Ontario, Canada.

             Best of wishes with your new endeavors,

             Steve

  4. Scot007 says:
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    It is true true that Mark kept the utilization flame alive during much of the history of ISS, but it is also true that Mark could never really bring himself to set that flame free.  He wanted to control it inside NASA, or with a complete front organization (i.e., CASIS) that could be controlled and that was given the short end of the utilization stick in terms of areas of responsibility, and that may in the end be the move that will set effective utilization back a long time.

    • 2814graham says:
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      I don’t know if what you say is accurate, however, Mark is leaving and we are seeing a flurry of changes in emphasis on utilization of ISS. Are the two related? CASIS sure was slow in starting but even its website is live now. Maybe all the changes are for the good. Time will tell. Too bad it didn’t happen years ago.

      • npng says:
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        An astute observation graham.  Mark’s leaving and then a flurry of changes in ISS utilization emphasis.  They must be related, classic cause and effect, effect and cause.

        Probably similar to:  If you happened to be born on the 1st day of the Vietnam War, then surely your birth was the event that provoked the war.  Or maybe that the war provoked your birth?  Or perhaps leaving was related to the CASIS website going live?  Or even that he knew you were going to write the post and acted in advance?  Yeah, that must be it, your post was the cause-effect catalyst that moved Mark to retire.

    • npng says:
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      Scot007,

      Your observations do not tally with reality, at all.  What actions were taken that revealed Mark’s intentions to control it, ISS utilization that is, within NASA?

      Let’s split hairs.  What someone wants versus what they attempt to do or actively pursue can be two very different things.  Someone might “want” in their head to control all of NASA or the entire planet, but what they do in execution can be completely different.  You say “He wanted…”.  Does that mean you know what was in his head?  If so, that is extraordinarily intimate and calls for your explanation.  

      Your declaration that Mark want to “control it” or control it as a complete “front organization” couldn’t be farther from any factual actions over the last year.  If anything, exactly the opposite is the case.  If you have verifable facts that support your contention, list them, with precision.

      The record and volumes of evidence reflect that Mark and others worked to create and establish a non-profit entity that would manage the ISS National Lab, with metered oversight from NASA, with rules, but with autonomy, self-managing authority, and defined sets of responsibilities. That’s been going on for the last year.  If anything, there may be an extraordinary deficiency of NASA oversight and control, not an excess.

      Allegedly a permanent Board of near saint level, nobel laureates and maybe even people with direct ties to God is nearing activation and collectively they will oversee the non-profit.  Does that sound like an entity that someone, Mark, set up as a front organization to control?  Get real.

      You close by linking your surmises of Mark’s wants with the thought that his ulterior actions ‘may’ in the end set effective ISS utilization back a long time.  Shame on you.  

      Your post is filled with “true true” and “true”.  I see false false false.

      People in this world are either good and possess accurate defendable observations and fact, are evil and actively distort facts aimed at gaining some nefarious advantage, or they are stupefyingly naive and make idiotic statements.  Which one are you?

  5. npng says:
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    “Mark was one of the few who managed to keep the utilization spark alive within NASA.”

    Let’s see how well the $100B NASA ISS engine runs without the spark.

    • 2814graham says:
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      I agree, the proof is in the performance. Plenty of room for improvement. The opportunity is wide open. No excuses, just do it, as the commercial says.

  6. Scot007 says:
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    Dear npng:

    Thank you for your lengthy comments.  If you could indicate which CASIS Board member(s) is(are) “near saint level” or have “direct ties to God” it would certainly ease my mind about effective utilization of ISS.

    • npng says:
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      When CASIS publishes its permanent board listing we can indicate which ones are saints with a checkmark or a tiny halo.  So you know, I didn’t declare them saints, others did.

      Is the lack of indicating marks and uncertainty about effective ISS utilization leaving your mind ill-at-ease?   If you really want to ease your mind, consider stating facts instead of fabricating stories and pursuing character assassination. 

    • Steve Whitfield says:
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      Scot,

      A little advice — quit while you’re a behind.

      Steve