Is NASA Pivoting Toward Space Force?
Keith’s note: It looks like the White House is taking a totally different tack on finding a new NASA Administrator. A pivot in a military direction. According to Military.com: “The White House made the unusual move of reaching out Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for advice on who should serve as the next NASA administrator, causing experts to worry about military influence on the civilian space agency. … At a news conference Thursday, President Donald Trump said that “Gen. Caine is going to be picking somebody” for the top role in NASA, which is separate from the Defense Department, and that somebody “will be checking them out.” FYI the current Deputy NASA Administrator nominee Matt Anderson has a long affiliation with military space activities.
8 responses to “Is NASA Pivoting Toward Space Force?”
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That’ll drive out the remaining good, dedicated employees who believe in the mission. The folks who could get paid more to work for a defense contractor right now but simply don’t want to build missiles when there are planets to explore.
FYI it’s “take a different tack,” not “tact” (sailing metaphor).
Autospell. Grr. And I only lived on a boat for several summers (embarrassed expression).
It would not drive out any remaining good, dedicated employees who believe in the mission. Remember, Space Force is our military. They defend us. Looking at the performance on SLS alone I would strongly consider bring in strong manager(s) from DoD. Military leaders had top positions during Apollo. That worked.
So, my concern isnt bringing in military-trained leaders to run an organization. That often works well – no objection at face value. The issue is the overall theme here, of turning NASA into a supporting element of Space Force.
Then fund us like military.
Exactly! They are going from $24B to $18B. But if they accept Ted Cruz’s legislation, they would go up to $28B. I like NASA and want it funded!!
With the May nomination for Deputy Administrator of Matthew Anderson, I’m not the least bit surprised by this move. NASA does have a lot more technical and Engineering expertise than Space Force does.
NASA has done collaborative work with the military in the past, more than most are aware of. Just look at how many classified shuttle missions there was for the Discovery
Yes this may be a foot in the door, but at the current state of things my philosophy is. Work + Work = Employment