JSC Ordered To Shut Down Reduced Flight Program
Keith’s note: The Technical Capabilities Assessment Team has decided to shut down the reduced flight program at JSC and transfer what is left of it to AFRC. JSC Center Director Ochoa has been directed to shut things down by mid-summer and mothball their C-9. Henceforth NASA will depend on one source: ZeroG. No real reason is given – and AFRC admits that it does not have the staff to run the program. A common ongoing complaint among users of ZeroG’s jet is the poor quality of the microgravity levels during its parabolas. Typical NASA decision making process.
– Zero G and Other Microgravity Simulations Summary Report, NASA/TM-2013-217373
– Feasibility of Use of NASA JSC C9 Aircraft If It Were To Be Furnished As Government Furnished Equipment, earlier post
– Extension of NASA Microgravity Services Contract ( Zero Gravity Corporation)
– NASA OIG is Not Pleased With ZeroG, earlier post
– ZeroG Responds to OIG Report, earlier post
G-jitters and crappy levels of microgravity have been the complaints from researchers since NASA stared flying with Zero-G.
Flying tourists is one thing but flying experiments (especially free floaters) is altogether different.
NASA pilots use a software/accelerometer flight profile that was developed by a guy at Glenn that guides the pilots through the parabola and results in a cleaner arc.
As far as I know, that technology has not been offered to Zero G.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again, NASA does not need nor can it continue to sustain 9 field centers with its current scope of work.
This is just one more decision in a long line a bad decisions made by headquarters. NASA continues to internally gut itself and it’s programs and its capabilities in order to keep staffing levels at a status quo.
Is the real reason embarrassing? Or is this a symptom of a major reorganisation going on within NASA?
Not the first stupid policy making decision and certainly not the last.
It was Michael Griffin that forced an apples to apples competition on commercial microgravity services back in 2007-8. The C9 was supposed to be shut down then.
As for the kibbitzing re g-levels, I’m pretty sure that was resolved a few years ago. But if you have evidence to the contrary…