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NASA Deputy Administrator Nominee Is James Morhard

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
July 12, 2018
Filed under
NASA Deputy Administrator Nominee Is James Morhard

From NASA PAO: “The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine on Thursday’s announcement of the intended nomination by President Donald Trump of James Morhard to serve as the agency’s deputy administrator: “Today the President announced his intent to nominate James Morhard as Deputy Administrator of NASA. “Morhard is the United States Senate Deputy Sergeant at Arms. Prior to this, he was the Staff Director of the Senate Appropriations Committee. During his tenure there, he ran the Senate Commerce, Justice, State subcommittee that included all NOAA programs, and the Military Construction subcommittee where public/private partnerships were first used for military housing. “This administration is committed to American leadership in space, and I look forward to working with Mr. Morhard upon his confirmation.”

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

26 responses to “NASA Deputy Administrator Nominee Is James Morhard”

  1. Bob Mahoney says:
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    So much for odds-on favorites…

  2. Daniel Woodard says:
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    The Sergeant at Arms? Maybe he will keep the agency in order.

    • spacegaucho says:
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      Deputy Sergeant of Arms! I didn’t think Janet Kavandi was a particularly good choice but this guy? It almost sounds like something from the Onion.

      • Daniel Woodard says:
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        The Onion might go out of business. How can you satirize reality when reality has become a satire? Seriously, he was chosen for the same reason as everyone else these days, political connections. If Paul451 is correct, he will be expected to reward his supporters.

        • fcrary says:
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          The Onion will be fine. Your comment reminds me of a statement from the 1970s. A political satirist, Tom Lehrer, announced that he was retiring, because political satire had reached its logical conclusion. He said that because Henry Kissinger had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Lehrer just didn’t think he could come up with anything to top that. But, decades later, political satire is still alive and well.

          • space1999 says:
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            Tom Lehrer was great… or I should say is great, since it seems he’s still alive and kicking. Don’t know how many times I listened to That Was The Year That Was… good times.

    • ThomasLMatula says:
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      However prior to being the Deputy Sergeant of Arms he was the chief staffer for the Appropriations Committee and has experience working on other committees. In short, like Rep. Bridenstine he knows how the Congress works and which buttons to push to get things accomplished, just like Lori Graver who held that position before. The difference is he won’t have an Administrator who will resist taking NASA in the new direction it needs to go for the new Space Commerce Age.

      BTW, the Sargent of Arms Office controls about a quarter of the Senate employees and is responsible for their IT, including assigning computers, etc. So what NASA is receiving as it Deputy Administrator is someone with over three decades of experience in how the Senate works. NASA is also getting someone who knows well the various Senators.

      In short, you will have a management team in place to get NASA the funding it needs to accomplish its goals. Now it’s up to the NSC to set its new direction.

      • tutiger87 says:
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        Most high school kids can do IT work.

        So that makes him qualified to make decisions regarding space systems?

        • ThomasLMatula says:
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          You do know that he has basically been doing exactly that being in charge of the staff that writes the checks for NASA for a number of years? As such he is probably far more qualified that someone like Dr. Griffin who over rode all the engineers at NASA to promote his personal design for Ares I, Ares V and Orion. Unlike some engineer promoted to this position he has no favorite architecture to promote so he might actually let the space architecture development process that is theoretically in place in at NASA actually work, just like it did under Administrator Webb.

          • tutiger87 says:
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            Everyone is quick to talk about Jim Webb. For they always forget that Jim Webb had Hugh Dryden and Bob Seamans. You’re putting this guy on their level?

          • ThomasLMatula says:
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            You are thinking of the old NASA that had to build rockets for Apollo, not the new one that will be buying/leasing services from space commerce. The new robotic program in which NASA will pay space commerce firms to include instruments on their rovers, versus NASA building a rover, is the future. The Hugh Dryden and Bob Seamans will be working for those commercial firms, not NASA.

      • fcrary says:
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        I’m not sure I agree. When Mr. Bridenstine was nominated as Administrator, you (and others) made the comparison to Administrator Webb. In effect, that the job really calls for a politician who can work with Congress, not an ex-engineer turned manager. But part of that analogy was that Mr. Webb had a Deputy Administrator who was a highly experienced scientist and engineer (Dr. Hugh Dryden.) The combination provided a successful mix of political and technical competence. But now we’re talking about a political operator in both positions. That may not work so well.

        • ThomasLMatula says:
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          But Administrator Webb’s job was to beat Russia to the Moon so he needed a tech team to build rockets and the Apollo architecture. Administrator Bridenstine’s job is to reorient NASA for the emerging space commerce age when it will be working with commercial firms in the development of space, not building rockets, but leasing space in commercial facilities and purchasing rides on commercial systems. His connection with Senators and legislative skills will be important in saving NASA.

          • space1999 says:
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            NASA will still have to develop technology when it isn’t available or when industry isn’t interested. How much do companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin spend on pure research into exotic propulsion technologies? I don’t know, but I imagine their focus is on engineering improvements of their existing systems, not pure research. Seems like something NASA would/should do. Of course it behooves NASA to encourage development in industry that lowers costs, but it also seems like you still want someone with a technical background at a high level to help make technical judgements.

          • ThomasLMatula says:
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            Yes, just as NACA did basic research. But NACA simply made the results available to aerospace firms, it wasn’t in competition with them or have an operational function like NASA has.

          • space1999 says:
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            NACA had an operational function, just not an exploration charter. The X-1 was built to NACA specs, and NACA had test pilots… W.r.t. NASA competition, I assume you have in mind the SLS vs BFR vs New Glenn. Since it’s unclear how close either BFR or New Glen are to actually flying it doesn’t seem imprudent for NASA to continue with the SLS. Who knows, Amazon may go bankrupt and Musk may have a nervous breakdown… in any case, competition is good, right? 😉

      • Paul451 says:
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        he Sargent of Arms Office controls about a quarter of the Senate employees and is responsible for their IT, including assigning computers, etc.

        He administered about 60 people.

        he has no favorite architecture to promote

        He’s Shelby’s boy. So yes, he has a favourite architecture to protect.

  3. JadedObs says:
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    Come on guys, his rise to Sergeant at Arms from being an Appropriations Staff Director was a promotion and an indication that he is highly regarded for the work he did on the committee that literally writes the checks for NASA. With Bridenstine’s House connections and experience and this guy’s Senate background, NASA has some powerful leadership where it really counts – on Capitol Hill! This is very good news especially given Pence’s involvement, NASA has friends in high places that most agencies would die for!

  4. space1999 says:
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    Wow… Wimbledon is in progress, so I have to say it… you cannot be serious!

  5. Jonna31 says:
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    I know the Trump Administration was having a nearly impossible time finding takers for open political appointments, but this is just ridiculous.

    Did they actually just pick a name out of a hat?

  6. tutiger87 says:
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    Who?

  7. sunman42 says:
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    Privatization, much? Guess we know now where that survey came from.

  8. Marvin Christensen says:
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    What the Administrator needed was a strong experienced engineering leader ala Hans Mark to tend to program while he’s off shaking hands and ribbon cutting. While the Directiorate leads are honorable folks, their the legacy bureaucrats that have 8 of the 17 major programs off cost and schedule ( per GAO). Not likely two politicians have the technical depth to resolve this. What is DEPARATELY needed is an independent assessment organization, reporting directly to the Administrator. Without that, I fear for the future of the Agency.

    • tutiger87 says:
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      That’s just it: I don’t think they want the Agency to survive…

      • objose says:
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        From the post I see here regularly, I do not get the feeling that there has been any confidence in the agency for years. SLS Webb. So is this a good or bad thing now? We do not have a national airline. I do not know enough, but are we past that point?