This is not a NASA Website. You might learn something. It's YOUR space agency. Get involved. Take it back. Make it work - for YOU.
Budget

Is It Time For Charlie Bolden To Pound His Shoe?

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
December 5, 2012
Filed under , , ,

NASA’s Deep-Space Station Idea Lacks White House Approval
“NASA has not cleared the EM-L2 outpost with the White House, and the space agency has not requested funding for it in the current fiscal year or the subsequent one, the official told SPACE.com. “So it’s kind of just one of those one-off projects that [NASA hopes if it goes] to the press, or to [Capitol] Hill, that it’ll get funded,” the official added. “But I don’t think that’s going to be the case.”
Charlie Bolden Intends To Press President Obama on Mars Mission Mandate for NASA
“At one point, Bolden teared up and said that “Mars is the Goal”. Bolden claimed that he was intent upon going to the White House, “pounding his shoe on the table”, and demanding a commitment from President Obama to direct NASA to send humans to Mars. Bolden said that he needs that commitment to allow him to decide what to do (not do) with regard to extending the ISS.”
Keith’s note: When NASA gets its FY 2013 budget passback from OMB they will see that in addition to not approving the L2 station, there is none of the additional, strong Mars commitment that Charlie Bolden declared must be in the budget (other than what the President has already said, that is). No word yet as to whether Bolden has requested a meeting at the White House for his shoe pounding event.

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

5 responses to “Is It Time For Charlie Bolden To Pound His Shoe?”

  1. Jackalope3000 says:
    0
    0

    Its funny to me that Bolden wants this L2 station that as far as I can tell does absolutely nothing except for the experience of being there meanwhile the Webb Telescope can’t be human serviced because its just too expensive to do.

  2. Helen Simpson says:
    0
    0

    As to approval/denial of a Lagrange point habitat, it’s not a black-or-white deal. It would be hardly surprising if the White House (and Congress as well) wasn’t ready to sign checks to build such a habitat. That’s in the same way that the White House and Congress aren’t signing any checks to build a Mars vehicle and habitat, even though everyone knows that Mars is the ultimate destination for human space flight.

    What is more likely is that an FY14 budget for NASA will be packaged in such a way that studies of, and concepts for, such a station will be funded, under the umbrella of existing budget lines. So the White House may not be ready to say “Let’s do a Lagrange point Gateway!”, but it will most likely be happy to consider it as something that will drive technology development and justify space transportation hardware. Same budget lines, but with a shift of ultimate goal. That kind of shift happens all the time, and avoids commitments that are fiscally risky.

  3. bobhudson54 says:
    0
    0

    Bolden should have done his “shoe pounding” when he was first appointed instead of being  the “yes” man he is.NASA needs a new administrator with the enthusiasm needed to boost the program. He’s a failed communicator. 

    • Steve Whitfield says:
      0
      0

      Bobby,

      The catch is, if you go back to earlier times, it seems to me that overly insistent NASA Administrators weren’t kept on for very long (James Webb was an exception, probably because of his long-time friendship with LBJ).  It seems that if you push hard, they push you out the door.  A no-win, for everyone.

      Steve

  4. Saturn1300 says:
    0
    0

    Says he was tearing.Maybe tears would work better than shoe pounding.I do not like this guy.He is no Vulcan.