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NASA Headquarters Transition Update – New 9th Floor Faces

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
January 22, 2017
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NASA Headquarters Transition Update – New 9th Floor Faces

Trump Names Former Climate Scientist Erik Noble to NASA Advisory Role, Wired
“Trump named Autry his White House liaison, a role NASA Watch editor Keith Cowing calls “traditional” – and Noble his White House senior advisor at NASA. That’s less typical. “Does that mean he’s at NASA, or is he just another liason?” Cowing says. “My guess is these guys are two peas in a pod.” Which is to say, they’ll probably work together to maintain open lines of communication between the space agency and the Oval Office. … Will these appointees help Trump on his mission to unlock the secrets of space? “Neither of these guys dropped out the sky,” Cowing says. “They both know what NASA means, at least.”
https://media2.spaceref.com/news/2017/noble.jpgErik Noble, White House Senior Advisor at NASA
– Political Data Analyst – Trump Data and Voter Outreach Team, Donald J. Trump For President, Inc.
– Adjunct Assistant Professor, Atmospheric Science, The City College of New York
– Scientist, Atmospheric Science, NASA January 2007 December 2013 (7 years) New York, NY
– University of Colorado at Boulder, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Environmental Studies: focus on Atmospheric Sciences
https://media2.spaceref.com/news/2017/autry.jpgGregory Autry, White House Liaison
– Assistant Prof. Clinical Entrepreneurship, USC. Space industry expert. Entrepreneur. Writer.
– Member of the Editorial Board, New Space Journal
– Research Lead, Commercial Space Group, AIAA
– Producer, Death By China – Film
– Senior Economist, Coalition for a Prosperous America

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

19 responses to “NASA Headquarters Transition Update – New 9th Floor Faces”

  1. ThomasLMatula says:
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    Hopefully the reference to exploring space in President’s Trump speech is an indication good things are in store for NASA.

    “We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the Earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow.”

    It is the first mention of space by a president in an inaugural address in decades.

    • Vladislaw says:
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      There was some real odd posts in some of the political groups I am in on facebook … several asked about that .. right and left… literally almost no one seemed to know about Musk ..his mars plans, .. NASA’s plans .. that Trump and Musk have met … it was mind boggling

      • ThomasLMatula says:
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        I am not surprised, most folks don’t really follow space. However I agree, I suspect Elon Musk had something to do with that paragraph.

        BTW wouldn’t it be neat if Elon Musk launched the first NASA astronauts to Mars during a second Trump term?

        • Vladislaw says:
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          The more I look at the systems Musk is proposing, I just do not believe he can do it in the timeline he is suggesting. UNLESS SpaceX is doing a lot more stuff relating to this that is just not being released yet.

        • Vladislaw says:
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          I was thinking that is what Trump said .. I will try to get funding for you but you have to stop at the moon first, then you can go on to the mars after… that would solve a WHOLE lot of problems about where to go first… Luna or Mars.

          SpaceX could do all the testing in LEO and cis lunar and even do landings on luna and the development could start. Once his systems are all operational,, THEN make the push to mars?

        • tutiger87 says:
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          Not gonna happen.

    • fcrary says:
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      Let’s not read too much into seven words. As a meaningless, probably coincidental and possibly depressing statistic, that speech was a bit over 1400 words. So the reference to space was slightly under 0.5% of the whole thing. Oddly enough, NASA’s budget is slightly under 0.5% of the whole, federal government’s budget.

  2. Odyssey2020 says:
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    Hmm, one is an expert on the Atmosphere and the other one on Entrepreneurship

    • kcowing says:
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      Both are useful skills to have on the 9th floor at NASA HQ.

    • muomega0 says:
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      Is data mining of internal servers a useful skill for NASA?

      ✯Improved the design and management of internal databases from planning stage through implementation and support between the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Trump Campaign
      ✯ Designed framework for data extraction, cleaning and management for campaign data of 72 million voters

  3. kcowing says:
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    If you folks are inclined to dispute the credentials of these two Trump political appointees then you need to use your real name. No anonymous trolling.

  4. Anonymous says:
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    I am concerned about having an inexperienced young person advising NASA on important issues. Usually it is older scientists who have passed their creative age but gained sufficient real world experience to assume such a role.

    • kcowing says:
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      How do you know that he is “inexperienced”? What is wrong with having young people i.e. the people whose future NASA is focusing on – participating in this process?

      • Anonymous says:
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        The term is relative. As far as I can tell from his linkedin page, he got PhD in 2011, and then in a soft money position at GISS for 6 years (not 7 as claimed), and has spent the past year working to elect Trump rather working on NASA projects. He does not have extensive research or administrative experience compared to many veterans who had worked in and out of NASA for decades and can better serve NASA and the national space programs. I wish him well on the job, just can’t say I am not concerned.

        • kcowing says:
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          And who are you? I asked that commenters use their real names when commenting on the qualifications of these individuals. Is “MLGB” your given name?

          • GentleGiant says:
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            Why are you obsessed over real names? Does it matter who MLGB is? The important point is the point(s) they are making, not what their real identity (the revealing of which may/may not get them in trouble) is. Focus on the issue at hand, not this minor side issue.

          • kcowing says:
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            Because this is my website. My rules. You want to go after a person’s qualifications then you need to use your actual name.

        • fcrary says:
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          I’m not sure long years of experience working in or with NASA (or similar agencies) is necessarily a good thing. NASA has been frequently criticized over its institutional culture. For example, both the Rogers and CAIB reports cited it as a contributing cause of the loss of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, respectively. This sort of culture is very difficult to change. Dr. Ride, who was on both the Rogers Commission and CAIB, was especially critical of the fact that nothing seemed to have changed in this respect.

          If you actually want to change the approach and culture of an organization, I don’t think you want long years of experience at headquarters. At least not exclusively. You’d want someone who isn’t used to the usual way of doing business, would ask why things are done that way, and wouldn’t be satisfied with, “That’s how we’ve always done things” or “everyone knows that.” That’s not someone with decades of experience within the existing system.

  5. gelbstoff says:
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    Noble has a decent h-index for his time as an active researcher, and he has co-authored with several excellent people. He is an Earth Scientists, and several of his papers have an applications bent. He does not have the profile of a climate denier. I particularly like that he was a soft money researcher. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt and would definitely like to talk shop with him. I am not worried about his lack of NASA management experience – this could be a blessing.

    G.