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Astrobotic Has Set A New Standard For Space Mission Transparency
Astrobotic Has Set A New Standard For Space Mission Transparency

Keith’s note: Take the time to read the Astrobotic press release (below). While it is sad that Peregrine won’t land on the Moon it is very important that everyone – including NASA – takes note of the unrivaled transparency and promptness of updates that Astrobotic has provided. They’ve set a new standard that all responsible users of space should follow. Ad Astra.

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  • NASA Watch
  • January 14, 2024
NASA Still Does Not Fully Comply With OMB Cybersecurity Guidance
NASA Still Does Not Fully Comply With OMB Cybersecurity Guidance

Keith’s note: according to a new GAO report Cybersecurity: Federal Agencies Made Progress, but Need to Fully Implement Incident Response Requirements: “The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration should ensure that the agency fully implements all event logging requirements as directed by OMB guidance. (Recommendation 17)” … “In written comments, reprinted in appendix XI, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration concurred with our recommendation and stated that it plans to address our recommendation by, among other things, creating a comprehensive plan to address all event logging requirements under a recently established Cybersecurity Improvement Portfolio. It also noted certain challenges it faces, such as data integration into the agency’s uniquely designed systems and resource constraints.[Note: NASA’s response is on pages 63-64]. Previous NASA IT posts

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  • NASA Watch
  • December 4, 2023
Time Travel: An Antarctic Astrobiology Website From 1996
Time Travel: An Antarctic Astrobiology Website From 1996

Keith’s note: This is a revised version of the original website that was first posted – from Antarctica – in 1996. As far as Dale Andersen (who is in Antarctica now doing Astrobiology research) and I know we ran one of the first – if not the first website updated FROM someone onsite in Antarctica. You might find out 1996 take on things interesting … Dale wrote: “We have radio telephones that allow us to contact McMurdo via several repeaters which have been placed in Taylor Valley. With this phone line we can send data via computer (e-mail, access the web etc.) at about 4800 baud. The signal is first sent to McMurdo, and is then forwarded by the servers there to Black Island (thirty miles to the west of McMurdo), and then uplinked by satellite back to the states where it enters into the Internet and ends up at Keith’s house in Virginia.“ and I said “When images have been placed on the remote FTP server, I use FTP to retrieve the images (usually from my home). I then manipulate the images into thumbnail and webpage – optimized versions with Adobe PhotoShop 4.0, link them to a webpage using World Wide Web Weaver 1.1, and then mount them on the Reston Communications webserver. My webserver is a Radius 81/110 Mac clone, with 40 Mb of RAM, running Webstar 2.0, connected to the Internet via a dedicated 128 kbps ISDN connection.” In other words this was sporty at the time but still rudimentary. Here are the pics. Oh yes – they got to hang out with Sir Edmund Hillary there.

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  • NASA Watch
  • November 24, 2023
It Takes More Than Logos On T-shirts For NASA To Fully Realize Its Branding Potential
It Takes More Than Logos On T-shirts For NASA To Fully Realize Its Branding Potential

Sometimes it seems that everyone on Earth is wearing a NASA T-shirt, Washington Post “Go to any college campus, Ulrich said, and there are “kids there with NASA shirts on. You see it on the subway. You see it on the street. It’s just proliferating.” It sure is. Last year, Ulrich said, the agency received 11,000 merchandising requests from companies that wanted to use the logo on some sort of […]

  • NASA Watch
  • January 16, 2022
The Rocket Launch Wallops Wants Everyone Except The Media To Know About
The Rocket Launch Wallops Wants Everyone Except The Media To Know About

Media Accreditation Open for Minotaur I Rocket Launch June 15 from NASA Wallops “Media must apply for accreditation by 4 p.m. Friday, May 28, by sending a request to Keith Koehler at …” Keith’s note: Yesterday I stumbled across a media advisory for media accreditation from NASA Wallops for a launch via someone’s Facebook page. It is posted by NASA here: Media Accreditation Open for Minotaur I Rocket Launch June […]

  • NASA Watch
  • May 18, 2021
NASA SMD Decides To Totally Reboot Its Internet Presence
NASA SMD Decides To Totally Reboot Its Internet Presence

Modernizing Science Websites, Thomas Zurbuchen “More so than ever, our Science Mission Directorate (SMD) websites are the front-door to our worldwide community of enthusiasts and learners. Upon an in-depth analysis of our web presence, I believe it is time for us to elevate the way we communicate and enhance the breadth of our audiences using a focused approach on great content, and best-in-class optimization techniques. As will all of our […]

  • NASA Watch
  • May 7, 2021
NASA's Education Efforts Can't Seem To Find One Another Easily
NASA's Education Efforts Can't Seem To Find One Another Easily

Keith’s note: By now you must be bored with my daily critique of how NASA organizes and presents itself to the public, policy makers, news media, and the rest of the world – especially when it comes to education. (see Fixing Education And Outreach At NASA. Part 1: STEM Engagement Office) To virtually everyone, everywhere, NASA.gov online resources are how people learn what NASA does – and where they go […]

  • NASA Watch
  • March 30, 2021
NASA Makes Its Science Harder To Find Than It Should Be
NASA Makes Its Science Harder To Find Than It Should Be

Keith’s note: When you think of NASA you think of science. That is because NASA wants you to think that. And since there is a lot of science at NASA, this is rather easy to do. Indeed, many times the people or organizations tasked with getting the science out via education and outreach at NASA are not very good at doing so. But the science is so compelling that it […]

  • NASA Watch
  • March 22, 2021
Back When No One Online Could Cover NASA

#FlashbackFriday For online journalists, bloggers, etc. who think you are having a hard time covering @NASA This is what I had to go through back in 2000 just to get #NASA press credentials. House Science Committee Chair & the NASA OIG got involved. https://t.co/8oPpZUxESM pic.twitter.com/A0YbfujPUA — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) March 5, 2021 Keith’s note: From my 24 July 1999 NASA PAO media accreditation request: “NASA Watch is read regularly (during […]

  • NASA Watch
  • March 5, 2021
NASA's Web Presence is An Amazing Mess
NASA's Web Presence is An Amazing Mess

Keith’s note: Websites are a thing that people have been doing for a quarter of a century. Despite all of the fancy graphics and tricks there are some basic things a good website should do. NASA has lots of websites – more than any other government agency. The agency’s Internet reach is truly global. But it gets this global reach in spite of itself. Its web presence is a jumbled […]

  • NASA Watch
  • March 2, 2021
Dysfunctional Science Websites At NASA

Well I just sit here in my basement and point out these obvious flaws and easy fixes month after month and yet no one at @NASA even bothers to fix them. In the real world this upgrade would have been done last year. — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) September 4, 2020 Keith’s note: A year and a half ago Jim Bridenstine directed NASA to fix its online services. he told the […]

  • NASA Watch
  • September 3, 2020
NASA CIO Still Can't Do The Cybersecurity Thing Properly
NASA CIO Still Can't Do The Cybersecurity Thing Properly

OIG: NASA’s Policy and Practices Regarding the Use of Non-Agency Information Technology Devices “NASA is not adequately securing its networks from unauthorized access by IT devices. Although OCIO has deployed technologies to monitor unauthorized IT device connections, it has not fully implemented controls to remove or block these devices from accessing NASA’s networks and systems. The initial December 2019 target date for NASA to complete installation of these controls has […]

  • NASA Watch
  • August 27, 2020
NASA Has Had A Year To Reorganize Their Web Presence. Did They?
NASA Has Had A Year To Reorganize Their Web Presence. Did They?

NASA Internal Memo: Website Modernization and Enhanced Security Protocols 15 May 2019 (PDF) “Currently there are an estimated 3,000 public-facing NASA Web sites, yet the top 10 sites receive 80 percent of all Web traffic. Additionally, some NASA partners operate Web sites on our behalf outside of the Agency, creating redundancy and accumulating unnecessary costs. Not only does this duplication of information cause confusion, each Wen site provides potential access […]

  • NASA Watch
  • April 28, 2020
If Only NASA Knew How To Coordinate And Leverage Its Own Good Stuff

Hey @NASAHarvest did you know that @NASASTEM is promoting a @NASA event on growing plants in space? Did @Space_Station know about this? Doubtful. #NASA doesn't leverage its many Twitter accounts very effectively despite the whole #NASAatHome thing during #COVID19 #SpaceBiology https://t.co/mxyOvy7sdQ — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) April 27, 2020 Interesting that @DouglasLoverro the AA for @NASA HEOMD is tweeting this 27 April 2020 posting on ISS research by NASA – before […]

  • NASA Watch
  • April 27, 2020
NASA Bans Use Of Zoom
NASA Bans Use Of Zoom

NASA Internal Memo: NASA’s Authorized Internal and External Collaboration Tools, NASA CIO “The NASA CIO has worked for the past several years to establish a consistent and modern set of tools to support both internal and external collaboration. While there is still work to do to support some of the more complex use-cases, such as sharing sensitive data with foreign partners, many others are met through Agency approved collaboration tools. […]

  • NASA Watch
  • April 9, 2020
NASA Just Can't Stop Doing Web Stuff Twice UPDATE: Three Times
NASA Just Can't Stop Doing Web Stuff Twice UPDATE: Three Times

Keith’s 7 October update: Today NASA JPL issued a press release “NASA’s Curiosity Rover Finds an Ancient Oasis on Mars” It includes the text: “For more about NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover mission, visit: https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/ https://nasa.gov/msl“ JPL has the release posted here with the same text and imagery as is used by NASA HQ’s version here. But if you go to https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/ and dig a little bit to “news and events” […]

  • NASA Watch
  • October 7, 2019
NASA's Confusing ICESAT-2 Websites
NASA's Confusing ICESAT-2 Websites

Keith’s note: If you go to the NASA GSFC website you will see this release “Laser Precision: NASA Flights, Satellite Align Over Sea Ice“. In the release you will see this at the bottom: “For more information, visit: nasa.gov/icesat-2 or icesat-2.gsfc.nasa.gov”. There’s no HMTL for the links on this webpage thus making it more difficult for people to follow the non-existent links. If you go to nasa.gov/icesat-2 you get the […]

  • NASA Watch
  • October 6, 2019
JSC Goes Out Of Its Way To Hide Good News (Update)
JSC Goes Out Of Its Way To Hide Good News (Update)

Cruz’s test: how to keep Houston central to space flight [Editorial] “But the flesh-and-blood part of the techno-wizardry of the Space program has always run first through Houston. Not Huntsville, Cape Canaveral nor any of many NASA facilities around the country. Isn’t the Texas congressional delegation disproportionately influential on this issue? It sure ought to be. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas chairs the Senate subcommittee on space. Rep. Brian Babin […]

  • NASA Watch
  • September 9, 2019