NASA: An lndependent Review of Foreign National Access Management “Over the last year, security incidents involving foreign nationals at NASA research Centers have drawn the attention of the NASA Administrator and other agency leaders, Congress, and the media. Recognizing the growing threat of cyber-attacks and espionage aimed at government agencies by hostile nation-states and foreign adversaries, NASA asked the National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) to conduct this review […]

Love planetary science? Dying to explore Europa’s oceans? Meet the man who can make it happen., Houston Chronicle “This week U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, a Republican from Virginia, announced he would not run for reelection in 2014. This move makes Houston Republican John Culberson the odds-on favorite to replace Wolf and become chairman of an appropriations subcommittee that oversees NASA. I have a story in today’s paper that outlines why […]

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) won’t seek reelection, Washington Post “Longtime Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) announced Tuesday that he won’t seek reelection in 2014. Wolf’s departure gives Democrats a great pickup opportunity in 2014. Wolf has easily held down the Northern Virginia suburbs and exurbs for decades, despite their increasing purple tone.” – Frank Wolf Dumps on NASA For Doing What He Told Them To Do, earlier post Best wishes for […]

Email From NASA Administrator Bolden Regarding Chinese Attendance at NASA Meeting “It is unfortunate that potential Chinese participants were refused attendance at the upcoming Kepler Conference at the Ames Research Park. Mid-level managers at Ames, in performing the due diligence they believed appropriate following a period of significant concern and scrutiny from Congress about our foreign access to NASA facilities, meetings and websites, acted without consulting NASA HQ. Upon learning […]

U.S. Finds Porn Not Secrets on Suspected China Spy’s Laptop, Business Week “Bo Jiang, who was indicted March 20 for allegedly making false statements to the U.S., was charged yesterday in a separate criminal information in federal court in Newport News, Virginia. Jiang unlawfully downloaded copyrighted movies and sexually explicit films onto his NASA laptop, according to the court filing. A plea hearing is set for tomorrow.” NIA Statement On […]

GOP Chairmen Go After Pete Worden, Aviation Week “The official in question, Ames Research Center Director Simon P. “Pete” Worden, vehemently denies he has been lax in protecting technology covered by International Trade in Armaments Regulations (ITAR), and says he has never been approached by federal law enforcement officials about the matter.” NASA ARC Centerwide Announcement: Ames and National Security “I have offered to talk to the news reporter, meet […]

Appropriators Blocking Mars Mission Move, Aviation Week “This proposal represents a significant deviation from the robotic exploration program plan as it was approved by Congress in NASA’s fiscal year 2012 appropriations, and the committee believes that so radical a change in policy needs and deserves to be fully considered by a process that is more rigorous and more inclusive than” the reprogramming notification, Wolf writes.” Rep. Schiff Applauds Decision to […]

Congress Slashes Budget of White House Science Office, AAAS/Science Insider “First words, then deeds. Frustrated that White House officials have ignored congressional language curtailing scientific collaborations with China, legislators have decided to get their attention through a 32% cut in the tiny budget of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Science lobbyists say that’s a bad idea. A 2012 spending bill expected to be approved later this week […]

Keith’s note: In the very near future NASA, Google, and computer manufacturer Lenovo are set to announce an interesting educational project. As I understand the gist of the effort from various sources, students will be asked to come up with ideas for experiments that can be performed on the ISS and submit a video via YouTube that describes their idea. Winners will be selected and the experiments described in the […]

Letter from Rep. Frank Wolf to OMB Director Jacob Lew Regarding James Webb Space Telescope “In the coming weeks, the House and Senate will sit down to negotiate final appropriations bills for fiscal year 2012, and the appropriate level of funding for JWST will be one of the most significant issues considered. For us to make a truly informed decision that takes into account both the value of JWST and […]