NASA's Stealth Space Grant Event
Tonight we celebrated @NASASTEM‘s 30th anniversary of initiating the Space Grant program! With Space Grant, we have student engagement activities in every state, Puerto Rico and Guam. pic.twitter.com/M7XLHacfUt
— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) February 26, 2020
Keith’s note: Too bad news media were not invited to this event. Perhaps more people could have learned about the various education programs NASA supports. There is no mention of this event on the National Space Grant page, NASA.gov home page calendar, on the Welcome to ‘Inside Space Grant’ page, or on the NASA STEM Engagement home page, When you visit the main NASA STEM page and go to the about the project, Consortium Directors and Websites, NASA Wants to Tell Your Space Grant Story!, and Space Grant in Action Image Gallery links under National Space Grant College and Fellowship Project on the left side of the web page you get a “404” (not found) error message (the links in the middle work). How can people learn about Space Grant when NASA does not tell people about events like this and can’t even keep a basic website working?
According to the proposed NASA FY 2021 Congressional budget (page 651):
“EXPLANATION OF MAJOR CHANGES IN FY 2021 No funding is requested for Space Grant, Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP). NASA proposes to use unobligated balances previously appropriated to support the termination of these activities, including but not limited to, ongoing administration, oversight, monitoring, and funding of grants previously awarded by the Office of STEM Engagement.”
No money for Space Grant. Not good news. So wouldn’t you think that everyone involved with Space Grant activities would want the news media to know the value of what they do? Guess not.
You’d think – but that budget document you linked is the Administration’s Justification to Congress for the Administration’s budget (the one that cancels STEM engagement, SOFIA, WFIRST, etc). The congressional budget is on track for keeping this office funded. So Bridenstine might not want to appear to the media with this office that his boss wants to have cancelled. Just like how he pretty much gets forced to talk out against WFIRST and the other things the White House would like to defund. Trying to keep his boss happy. Ugh.
That wouldn’t explain why Mr. Bridenstien posted a selfie of himself at the event. It’s been pointed out before, but I don’t think many people get it. There is no one NASA. The administrator may think one thing and the people putting a schedule of events on a web page may think something else. So lots of things aren’t as well coordinated as we’d like. The real problem is that lack of coordination, not which (if any) of those views on public relations is correct.