Personnel News: August 2018 Archives

Keith's note: I am not even sure where to start. I knew Paul for 30 years. He was truly the "man in the moon". I am not sure that there was any one person left among us who had that Apollo-era sort of knowledge of the Moon - its geology, its resources, and its untapped potential. He was an unrelenting advocate for lunar exploration and he will be truly missed. This is a tremendous loss for space science. Ad Astra Paul.

The Passing of Paul Spudis: Moon Exploration Expert, Leonard David

"Spudis was Deputy Leader of the Science Team for the Department of Defense Clementine mission to the Moon in 1994, the Principal Investigator of the Mini-SAR imaging radar experiment on India's Chandrayaan-1 mission (2008-2009), and a team member of the Mini-RF imaging radar on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission (2009-2018). Spudis authored or co-authored over 115 scientific papers and 7 books, including The Once and Future Moon, a book for the general public in the Smithsonian Library of the Solar System series, The Clementine Atlas of the Moon, by Cambridge University Press, and The Value of the Moon: How to Explore, Live and Prosper in Space Using the Moon's Resources, by Smithsonian Books. Spudis was a major lunar scientist based at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas at the time of his passing. For a glimpse of the renowned work of Paul Spudis, go to: http://www.spudislunarresources.com/"

NASA Earth Science Director Announces Retirement

"Michael Freilich, director of the Earth Science Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters since 2006, announced he will retire from the agency in February 2019. Freilich leads NASA's mission to increase understanding of our home planet and help safeguard and improve lives for humanity's future."

Open Positions at NASA HQ: Planetary Science Division Director and NASA Deputy Chief Scientist

"NASA is now advertising for the Director of the Planetary Science Division in the Science Mission Directorate. In addition, NASA is now advertising for the Deputy Chief Scientist in the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS)."

Nomination Hearing: James Morhard for NASA Deputy Administrator

"U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a hearing at 10: 15 a.m. on Thursday, August 23, 2018, to consider three presidential nominees."

Morhard's response to questions from the committee

Watch Live

Testimony: Mr. James "Jim" Morhard, of Virginia, to be Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

"I believe transformational leadership and the empowerment and strength of partnering, will ensure a new era for America's space programs, advance scientific knowledge for the Earth, and inspire a new generation to enter the STEM fields. If confirmed, it would be my highest honor to help NASA in these endeavors. This is the time."

Potential Reduction At Wallops Flight Facility, WBOC

"Goddard Space Flight Center said they are evaluating opportunities to streamline and improve the relationship between the center's in Greenbelt, Maryland and Wallops Island. Goddard told WBOC today in a statement, "The importance of a synergistic relationship between the two campuses is vital to the future of each campus and Goddard Space Flight Center as a whole." Bale is disappointed that Goddard is even entertaining the idea of any potential reduction. "We're unclear and unclear is not good," Bale said. "That area of uncertainty would be very detrimental to how we operate, attracting new customers, and attracting the potential business opportunities that continue to evolve here." Goddard is expected to make its final decision within 45-90 days. There is a meeting scheduled next week for the many people who want to spare Wallops from any reduction with a vision of expansion in the future."

NASA Wallops Flight Facility to explore efficiencies with sister campus, Delmarva Now

"Keith Koehler, a spokesman for NASA Wallops Flight Facility, issued the following statement from Ken Human, who recently retired from NASA and is leading the review team: In light of agency efforts to improve management efficiencies and the increasing prominence of commercial space, Goddard has formed a team to study and evaluate opportunities to improve the organizational structure and effectiveness of the relationship between Goddard Space Flight Center's campuses at Greenbelt, Md., and Wallops Island, Virginia, Koehler wrote in an email on Friday."

Keith's note: Notice how NASA will not explicitly rule out job reductions at Wallops? Phrases such as "exploring efficiencies" and "streamline and improve" are the passive-aggressive ways that NASA spokesmouths avoid saying that job reductions are under consideration when in fact they most certainly are on the table. Notice how NASA will only say "The 90-day study will wrap up by late October ... and is not expected to have any impact on the Wallops facility before the study is completed." The operative phrase here is "before the study is completed". What about after the study is completed? I've seen this movie before.

Obituary, Washington Post

"Dan, 91, died peacefully on July 26, 2018, at his home in Vienna, VA. He reached for the stars when he went to work for NASA and combined his engineering knowledge with his passion for space exploration. Over his career he worked on many ground breaking space missions, including the successful Galileo mission to Jupiter."