Federal workers can be fired for refusing vaccination, but must show up to work until their cases are determined, new guidance says, Washington Post “Federal employees can be fired for refusing to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, but as their disciplinary cases wind through the system, they will report to work alongside vaccinated colleagues, according to Biden administration guidance issued this week. The new guidance to implement a vaccine mandate […]

Biden to announce that all federal workers must be vaccinated, with no option for testing, AP “President Joe Biden on Thursday will impose more stringent vaccine rules on federal workers, and take steps to encourage private businesses to do the same, during a major speech meant to lay out a new approach to combating the coronavirus. Among the steps the President will take is signing an executive order requiring all […]

President Biden to Announce New Actions to Get More Americans Vaccinated and Slow the Spread of the Delta Variant, White House “Today, the President will announce that to help protect workers and their communities, every federal government employee and onsite contractor will be asked to attest to their vaccination status. Anyone who does not attest to being fully vaccinated will be required to wear a mask on the job no […]

NASA Notice of availability of inventions for licensing: Human-Powered Ventilator “The following application filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office under the Patent Cooperation Treaty is available for licensing: NASA Case No.: MSC-26813-1-PCT, Human-Powered Ventilator. The patent rights in this invention has been assigned to the United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Any prospective license will comply with […]

NASA Named Best Place to Work, No. 1 for COVID-19 Response “For the ninth consecutive year, the Partnership for Public Service has ranked NASA as the Best Place to Work in the Federal Government among large agencies and, new for 2020, has also ranked NASA No. 1 among large agencies for its response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The rankings, announced Tuesday, reflect NASA’s focus and dedication as it pursues […]

Biden administration sets mid-July deadline to finalize agency reentry plans “Agencies have until July 19 to submit employee and contractor reentry plans to the Office of Management and Budget, the Biden administration said Tuesday. Agencies must finalize their plans for both reopening offices and setting post-reentry procedures and policies by that date, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force, in collaboration with OMB, the Office of Personnel Management and the General […]

Once again @SenBillNelson steps in it. I am sure White House is thrilled with his freelancing on this topic a day after @jrpsaki stood in the WH briefing room and said that the Administration is withholding judgement on this issue until the WHO has completed their investigation. https://t.co/blmVIQiybd — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 25, 2021

Keith’s 22 April update: Sources report that despite pleading guilty to COVID-19 Related Loan Fraud Andrew (Nestor) Tezna still works at NASA – in his capacity of running the NASA CFO Policy & Grants Office as is shown in this org chart. He is still being paid for official duties related to the financial operations and integrity of NASA – even though this loan issue was discovered as long ago […]

Final Memorandum, COVID-19 Impacts on NASA’s Major Programs and Projects (IG-21-016; A-20-010-00), NASA OIG “A top-line estimate of the cost for these delays and challenges across NASA is estimated to be nearly $3 billion. However, NASA will not be able to quantify the complete impact of the pandemic on its programs and projects until after the COVID-19 emergency has subsided. This memorandum presents a snapshot of the reported estimated impacts […]

Keith’s note: Last night I tweeted a link to this update about mask issues at JSC and Michoud. Shortly thereafter Twitter started to “shadow ban” @NASAWatch i.e. limit the account’s visibility. The only way to get out of this situation is to not tweet from @NASAWatch for a few days – perhaps a week. As such, to prevent this from happening again, I will no longer be able to tweet […]

Pandemic Comfort Food In Space “Look closely: Wasabi peas, Ocean Spray Crasins, apricots, French’s yellow mustard, Smuckers strawberry jam, and of course, Sriracha sauce – with Huggies velcroed on the wall to clean up astro faces after eating.”

Trump Administration Releases Science and Technology Accomplishments from First Term, OSTP “RETURNING TO SPACE EXPLORATION: Since reviving the National Space Council, President Trump established a whole-of-government effort to lead again in human space exploration, safeguard the space environment, promote national security, and streamline regulations to foster commercial space activities.” Advancing America’s Global Leadership in Science & Technology – Trump Administration Highlights: 2017-2020 (report) Keith’s note: But wait: while OSTP’s Director […]

COVID-19–The largest isolation study in history: the value of shared learnings from spaceflight analogs, Nature (Open source) “The world is currently experiencing the largest isolation experiment in history. In an attempt to slow down the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic numerous countries across the world have been shutting down economies, education, and public life. Governments have mandated strict regulations of quarantine and social distancing in an unprecedented manner. The effects […]

NAS and NAM Presidents Alarmed By Political Interference in Science Amid Pandemic “As advisers to the nation on all matters of science, medicine, and public health, we are compelled to underscore the value of science-based decision-making at all levels of government. Our nation is at a critical time in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic with important decisions ahead of us, especially concerning the efficacy and safety of vaccines. Policymaking […]

NASA Weekly Update from the Administrator – Aug. 31, 2020 “ANNOUNCEMENT: These difficult times can be especially trying for those with children at home or other dependent/caregiver responsibilities. As we head into the fall, and more schools opt to conduct classes virtually, I am pleased to announce that the agency is able to continue offering excused leave through March 2021. Supervisors should approve all requests, to the extent possible, and […]

NASA Weekly Update from the Administrator – Aug. 17, 2020 “This week the agency’s COVID-19 Response leadership and I will record a town hall to answer your questions and provide an update on the status of the agency. If you’d like to submit a question, please visit https://www.nasa.gov/townhall before the submission window closes tomorrow, Aug. 18, at noon EDT. You’ll receive a NASA INC message with a link to the […]

NASA Associate Administrator Memo: Moving Forward Together; Next Agency Town Hall, NASA “We’re making steady progress safely returning mission-critical work on-site – yet another testament to the dedication of the NASA team. I, along with other agency leaders, am incredibly proud of the effort every NASA employee puts in every day to keep the mission moving forward. We also recognize that, with the approach of fall and the start of […]

Keith’s update: I just had a chat with GSFC management. In a nutshell this pandemic and telework has gone on longer than anyone expected and it will go on for quite some time – well into 2021. As such, people and policies need to constantly adapt to an uncertain and ever changing future. You can expect some clarification from GSFC management soon including a request from the GSFC workforce for […]