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“Gerstenmaier”
Is There Another NASA Destination Pivot Ahead? (Update)

The date for the President's @NASA-related event on Moon->Mars issues is 19 July. Location is still TBD (but not in Texas). Odds are that this may be something at the White House itself – like the Nat'l Space Council event last summer – #StayTuned #ThingsChange #Moon2024 pic.twitter.com/57TzhlpxRK — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 13, 2019 NASA Administrator to Talk Moon Landing Anniversary, Moon to Mars Plans https://t.co/w1nKn42cKY #Artemis #Mars #Moon #Apollo50 […]

  • NASA Watch
  • July 13, 2019
Old Thinking About New Directions Inside and Outside of NASA
Old Thinking About New Directions Inside and Outside of NASA

Trump, with NASA, has a new rocket and spaceship. Where’s he going to go?, Washington Post “There are practical issues, too: Musk has a reputation for overpromising on timelines. SpaceX has never launched anyone into space. The Falcon Heavy has never flown. Moreover, NASA officials would be unlikely to embrace a SpaceX moon flyby unless it clearly fit into the agency’s long-term plans for deep-space exploration. What does Elon want […]

  • NASA Watch
  • March 12, 2017
Bill Gerstenmaier Was For Centrifuges Before He Was Against Them
Bill Gerstenmaier Was For Centrifuges Before He Was Against Them

The weak pull of artificial gravity, The Space Review “Gerstenmaier, while skeptical of the need for and ability to accommodate artificial gravity, didn’t rule it out entirely. He noted that there’s very little information on the effectiveness of partial gravity, including the minimum levels needed to offset the deleterious effects of microgravity. Some of that research is being done with a small rodent centrifuge on the station’s Kibo module. “We’ll […]

  • NASA Watch
  • October 31, 2016
Food For Thought

Gerstenmaier: I'm talking w/o slides today so I can say what I need to say w/o going through thousands of reviewers. — Marcia Smith (@SpcPlcyOnline) February 3, 2016 How is an agency that can't easily approve meeting slides going to make itself lean enough to send humans on #JourneyToMars ? — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) February 3, 2016

  • NASA Watch
  • February 3, 2016
NASA's Goofy New Asteroid Mission Strategy: Don't Worry – Be Happy (Update)

NASA officials talk challenges, and thrills, of capturing an asteroid, LA Times “Having trouble getting excited about NASA’s planned mission to redirect an asteroid? Maybe William Gerstenmaier can help. “Turn off your logical side and turn on your touchy-feely side, the one you almost never use,” Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Directorate, told attendees of an aeronautics and astronautics conference Wednesday in San Diego. “Then jump […]

  • NASA Watch
  • September 13, 2013
ISS: Users Wanted

Keith’s note: Interesting commentary by HEOMD AA Bill Gerstenmaier at the FAA Space Transportation Conference this morning. Refreshingly, he openly admitted that NASA built the ISS – at great cost – but did not put much real thought into how to use it. Now, there is a 900,000 pound research facility in orbit and it is the size of a 5 bedroom house. Yet according to Gerstenmaier, NASA cannot use […]

  • NASA Watch
  • February 15, 2012
Spanning the HEOMD-SMD Gap

NASA science chief advocates ties with human spaceflight, SpaceflightNow “Grunsfeld told Spaceflight Now he met with Bill Gerstenmaier, head of NASA’s human exploration division, in his first week in office. “One of the reasons I’m in this job now is because NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden believed that teaming with human spaceflight on those things that make sense, on our exploration program, for science to take advantage of the resources of […]

  • NASA Watch
  • February 4, 2012
NASA's SLS Procurement: So Far, Sole Source Only

NASA Solicitation: Space Launch System Stages Acquisition “NASA has selected a launch vehicle architecture that includes a large cryogenic (LOX/LH2) Core Stage, an Upper Stage when needed for higher performance missions, high thrust Boosters (initially, using those developed for the Ares I vehicle) for liftoff thrust, using either 3, 4, or 5 RS-25 engines on Core Stage, and using 1, 2, or 3 J-2X engines on Upper Stage. While the […]

  • NASA Watch
  • September 28, 2011
SLS Procurement: Still Waiting For The Details (Update)

NASA’s New Space Launch System Announced – Destination TBD, SpaceRef “Sen. Kay Baily Hutchison said in a press conference a few hours earlier that the exisiting Constellation and shuttle contracts will be changed within a week or so. When asked about this Gerstenmaier said that will not happen that fast. He said that NASA’s intent is to have an Industry day for the private sector around 29 September. A formal […]

  • NASA Watch
  • September 20, 2011
NASA's "Notional" Capability Driven Exploration

Keith’s note: SOMD AA Bill Gerstenmaier made a presentation to the 16 June Space Council meeting. The last slide (larger image) from his presentation (the rest of it is just pretty pictures) titled “Capability Driven Exploration” offers some insight into where a combined SOMD/ESMD exploration plan might be headed. Alas, this chart (and the path it suggests) is “notional” – like just about everything NASA says about its future plans […]

  • NASA Watch
  • June 22, 2011