Prepared Remarks by NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, AIAA 2012 Space Conference
“Finally, there are some who believe that NASA has lost its edge and is no longer the world’s leader in space. In fact, some have suggested that we’re now number three. Sounds to me like they’re either woefully uninformed or, worse, betting against America. That is never a good bet. So, for those who think our space program is in decline, I have this simple message: President Obama and NASA have “Created a Sustainable Vision for Space.” America continues to lead the world in space exploration. We’re successful undertaking missions that other nations can only dream about, unleashing the entrepreneurial spirit of American industry to do what it does best and investing in game-changing technology that will revolutionize space travel and life on earth. The best days of our space program are ahead of us. And have no doubt: America’s space program is better off than it was four years ago.”
Voyages: Charting the Course for Sustainable Human Space Exploration (Report)
“This report articulates NASA’s multi-destination human space exploration strategy using a capability-driven approach NASA is ensuring that the United States fosters a safe, robust, affordable, sustainable, and flexible space program by developing a set of core evolving capabilities instead of specialized, destination-specific hardware These core capabilities allow NASA the flexibility to conduct increasingly complex missions to a range of destinations over time By expanding human presence throughout the solar system, we increase our scientific knowledge, enable technological and economic growth, and inspire global collaboration and achievement.”
Lori Garver is just another “talking head” for the Obama administration. Its all peat and repeat, whenever Bolden isn’t around she comments instead and repeats the same points of the administration. The point is there is no true plan, we remain grounded in Leo with nothing but “flash in the pan” rhetoric.
Lori Garver was appointed by – and represents – the Obama Administration. Your point?
Unfortunately, I think that Lory Garver is more than just a talking head. Her “capability” vs. “destination” vision for the future seems to be one of the drivers behind current policy. I say unfortunate because destination driven policy also tends to be a major driver behind development of capabilities. Now we certainly seem to be more adrift.
More spin from Lori. No one believes and she has lost all credibility.
“No one believes”? How can you make that claim? In order to do so, you’d need to have asked ‘everybody’.
Ms. Garver is one of those that has a clue.
“there are some who believe that NASA has lost its edge and is no longer the world’s leader in space”
NASA hasn’t lost its edge, it’s manned space program simply hasn’t been allowed to travel beyond LEO for the last 40 years. NASA has spent over $220 billion, in today’s dollars, during the last 40 years on a manned spaceflight program designed to go around in circles above the Earth.
And now President Obama wants to spend even more money on LEO by extending the $3 billion a year ISS program at least up to 2020 and possibly up to 2028. That’s up to $42 billion in precious NASA funds that’s not going to be spent helping the US establish a permanent human presence on the Moon and Mars!
A manned NEO asteroid mission set more than a decade into the future is just a silly stunt and a distraction from a real pioneering space program that could help us expand humans and our economic realm to the Moon and Mars and beyond.
Marcel F. Williams
Instead of stating that our best days are ahead of us, tell us in detail what is ahead. Will the SLS be built, or will the adminstration continue to be passive aggressive about it? Is planetary exploration of Mars at an end with Curiosity?
I hope they will continue to be passive agressive, more agressive about SLS and get the boondoggle killed, and no planetary exploration and Mars specifically is doing rather well, with MAVEN launching soon and InSight just picked as the next lander. Any other questions ?
Will the SLS be built, or will the adminstration continue to be passive aggressive about it?
Please explain how the administration is being “passive aggressive” with SLS.
SLS, with a launch rate of one per year, is a budget white elephant and technically unsustainable. Look for this flying pork bucket to be cancelled as soon as possible.
SLS launch rate is dummy in 2014, semi-boilerplate in 2017, and manned in 2021, then (maybe) one every two years.
I apologize for my uncontrolled optimism.
But this was spoken at a conference. All of us NASA Watch readers now know that conferences are boondoggles that should be ignored. Nothing serious is discussed. So why bother even commenting on what she says?
Seriously? “all conferences are boondoggles”? When I read this kind of thing I wonder if the writer even knows what the hell goes on at a conference. Or science in general, really.
I’m pretty sure Spacer1966 was being sarcastic.
Yes, I was. My reply to this didn’t go through (yet?), though.
… if you don’t count the fact we were still paying the Russians because the earlier presidents couldn’t field a crew return vehicles.
And the prior idiot president cancelled the X-38 program to save $50 M, only to have Columbia and then we couldn’t fly at all for a while.
Not to mention, the same prior idiot didn’t have the backbone to standup to the crazies in his own party, selling his own replacement OSP/Orion on EELV program down the river along with Craig Stiedel, and then had Griffin waste $9B on a program even more expensive than Shuttle, requiring Shuttle to be shut down (supplier contracts cancelled).
Tools likeyou never tell the whole story.add:
CD, you object? Would you prefer a more accurate description? I’m always willing to listen to constructive feedback to improve my accuracy – I notice that you’re shameless about your mangling of the truth.
So here’s a few stabs, let me know what you think:
“Weasel with the truth”, “Cheerleader for deception”, “Ideological stooge”. Are we getting closer? Suggestions?
But you have that “Fox news” selective reality feel that wants the effect of a slant, not any objective truth to tell us gullible fools. Like we’ll eat it.
It might be funny in a perverse way, if a variation on it didn’t just kill a close contemporary of mine in Libya the other day. And Romney attempted to use it against Obama, heedless to how it endangers US troops/diplomats/interests, simply because he’s desperate to kill the Obama bounce.
From Salon:
“But this hasn’t stopped other Republicans – including RNC chairman Reince Priebus and Sarah Palin – from echoing the Romney line. Again, it probably shouldn’t be surprising. This is the kind of nonsense you’ll get when one party spends four years convincing itself that a president is something he isn’t.”
Chris Stevens, like me, worked for both sides of the aisle. He was the best of America, doing the hardest of jobs in the hardest places. He got set up by your ilk, who are snickering about it.
So, for every lie you tell, I’m going to go out and find/convince a longstanding white Republican to vote for (if not “bear hug”) Obama, off of nothing but demonstrated, provable truths. Many of them will also convert others, so, you’ve succeeded in inspiring political action. I will undercut the base myself.
CD, you’re my inspiration!
Let’s face it…while MSL is the epitome of “can do” American space science, the “sex appeal” will ALWAYS be with manned, human space-flight. No, I am not talking about the “boring” (at least to John Q. Public) “routine” missions to ISS, but rather with any new launch vehicle/system and most especially a novel mission. There is no question in my mind that we (America) is far and away still the leader in space exploration. Nevertheless, there is absolutely nothing that captures the imagination and enthusiasm of the general public as a pioneering manned mission to a new celestlial destination. Perhaps that has something to do with putting people’s lives actually on the line…but I think there is something in the “collective unconcious” of Americans that understands all our greatest historical achievements in exploration involved a huge element of personal risk and danger.
Again, this takes nothing away from the intellectual achievements of the JPL missions…all I am saying is that there is a difference when a human sets his foot on “terra nova”, versus a robot. In the recent slew of documentaries on Apollo 11, in response to the passing of our great hero Commander Neil Armstrong, there is one thing that stood out for me. The testimony from the Apollo 11 crew was quite moving, and says it all. In their subsequent world tour, each of them was struck by the singular expression of achievement voiced by people from all different countries. They didn’t hear; “You did it”!
All they heard was “We did it”!
In a nutshell, that is what separates Man from machines.
Dreams of spaceflight for future generations…
It would be funny except that these people are affecting U.S. manned space
policy. The National Space Society is run by people like her and it too has lost
credibility.
I would like to see the 2012 prize for the most outstandingly dull description of something really exciting awarded to this report “Voyages: Charting the Course for Sustaintable Human Space Exploration”
And I quote …
“NASA is focused on developing a suite of core capabilities to explore these destinations.
Each capability is a specific function designed to solve an exploration challenge, to enable—in combination with other capabilities—unique possibilities for advancing human presence into our solar system:
• low Earth orbit crew and cargo access
• beyond Earth orbit crew and cargo access
• in-space propulsion
• ground operations
• in-space operations
• long-duration habitation
• mobile exploration module
• extravehicular activity (EVA) systems
• precursor robotics
• human-robotic interfaces
• destination systems
Affordability, sustainability, and interoperability are key principles for capability development, to ensure continued space exploration, send humans to farther destinations, and enable more complex missions.”
Hold me back before I get carried away …