Keith’s note: according to a Truth Social post: “Sean Duffy has done an incredible job as Interim Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This evening, I am pleased to nominate Jared Isaacman, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut, as Administrator of NASA. Jared’s passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era. Congratulations to Jared, his wife Monica, and their children, Mila and Liv. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT”
Biologist, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Biologist and Payload integrator, Editor of NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com, Lapsed climber, Explorer, Synaesthete, Former Challenger Center board member... More by Keith Cowing
I hope Mr. Isaacman knows that NASA is one of, if not THE most efficient Agency in the Federal Government. And really should be used as a model for the US Government.
Google:
NASA has passed its budget audits for 14 consecutive years, most recently receiving a “clean” opinion for Fiscal Year 2024, its 14th in a row. This means the agency has received an unmodified audit opinion on its financial statements since FY 2011.
Consecutive clean audits: NASA has successfully passed its financial statement audits for 14 years in a row, from fiscal year 2011 through fiscal year 2024
*There are current projects that are not only ahead of schedule, but under budget as well.
I don’t think Isaacman cares. According to his plan he wants NASA to make money, operating :commercially’; Success is met once NASA no longer requires a budget. The problem with this is, its not how the government works.
He never said that. Seriously if you are going to troll at least try and anchor the trolling with some shred of accuracy. Otherwise you are going to see your posts edited or deleted. Got that?
It is good that NASA can pass an audit but it is not a good measure of it’s efficiency. It is just accurately keeping track of massive cost over runs and schedule slips. I hope Isaacman doesn’t intend to run NASA as a business but like a business. Those responsible for over runs and schedule delays need to be held accountable while realizing the difficulty in developing often unique systems. No bonus payments to companies with massive overruns. NASA managers that advocate and lead programs that fail by objective measures shouldn’t get to run the next program. Offices that seem to think that passing a review or developing vugraph presentations is a sufficient outcome instead of building, testing, or flying need to get out of the way .The biggest problem with making NASA more efficient are the politicians distorting the work NASA does and how it does it. I wish Mr. Isaacman all the luck in the world fixing that (btw Jared good luck trying to tap university trust funds to fund missions in this environment).
On The Ground – I can say that for the last 25 years I have been at NASA, every spacecraft (6, and counting) I have worked on have launched on time, and on budget.
The one I’m currently on now is currently under budget, and ahead of schedule for launch by 6+ months.
Most of the “challenges” I’ve seen have mainly come out of DC politics.
I’m suspicious, Isaacman will have better vocabulary and presentation than Duffy but I feel he is one of Musk’s business partners that will steer NASA to become a “passthru” agency where money goes from Treasury Dept through NASA to SpaceX with not much specification or program direction by NASA. I expect science will significantly be cut as directed by the PBR but Isaacman may frame all that as a good thing. Overall, NASA may get to the moon but without strong science, it will be seen as a cash cow for SpaceX and Blue Origin. And that soft power NASA projects will be lost. Example as Keith occasionally writes NASA soft power is you can find someone somewhere in the world wearing a NASA shirt.
SLS, Starliner, Mars sample return,electric airplane, X-59, etc.
I sincerely hope your efforts are rightly supported.
Thankfully no. But most of these (bad decisions) are due to political lobbying in Congress.