‘Smartest guy in the room’: Pentagon R&D chief under fire after controversial firings, Inside Defense “Key lawmakers are closely examining the behavior and decision-making of the Defense Department’s technology chief, spurred by high-profile personnel departures from his office. Mike Griffin earlier this month, according to government sources, orchestrated early departures within days of each other for former Strategic Capabilities Office Director Chris Shank and former Space Development Agency Director Fred […]

Keith’s note: Let’s start with the loss of Columbia in 2003. O’Keefe talks Bush into completing ISS, then retiring Space Shuttle, then going back to the Moon by 2018 and then on to Mars 10 years Later. Then Iraq happens and Griffin changes course with the “Apollo on Steroids” thing and pivots toward Mars and away from the Moon. Then Obama tells Bolden “Moon – been there, done that, lets […]

The Pentagon’s Technology Chief Is an Utter F*cking Fool, Daily Beast “Ignorance is nothing new to Michael Griffin. He used to administer NASA during the George W. Bush administration, where he somehow managed to prove himself to be worse than a climate-change denier. During a 2007 interview with NPR, Griffin advanced the novel position that sure, humanity was the engine of climate transformation, but to do anything about it was […]

Keith’s note: During the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) era after the loss of Columbia NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe created an Exploration Directorate separate from the directorate that operated the space shuttle and ISS – on purpose. He wanted the new stuff to not be bound by the status quo. Adm. Craig Steidle was recruited to run the show. Whatever commercial things NASA does now had their seeds in what […]

Blue Origin’s new engine isn’t good enough for some congressmen, Ars Technica “At the end of February, two US representatives, Mike Rogers of Alabama and Mac Thornberry of Texas, decided to push a little harder. On February 28, they sent a letter to Lisa Disbrow, the acting secretary of the US Air Force, and James MacStravic, who is performing the duties of the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and […]

Keith’s note: Sources report that Chris Shank is headed to DOD as part of their Beachhead team and is not staying at NASA or returning to Capitol Hill. Shank’s former NASA boss Mike Griffin recently met with Trump Transition Team members and has expressed an interest in being nominated to be Secretary of the Air Force. Shank served for more than a decade in the Air Force. Stay tuned. Keith’s […]

Sen. Jeff Sessions Exerts Wide Influence Over Trump Space Plans, Wall Street Journal “One sign of the influence Mr. Sessions has with the president-elect is that job seekers actively seek his support. Three former astronauts, including retired Air Force Lt. General Thomas Stafford, who was the head of NASA’s astronaut corps and later was instrumental in development of the B-2 Stealth bomber, have urged the Alabama lawmaker to support [Doug] […]

Keith’s note: If you go to people.nasa.gov and look up former NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin you will see that he is still listed in the agency’s phone directory albeit with a non-NASA email and no phone. No other former NASA Administrator (or Deputy) is listed. Why is that?

Bush’s former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin says Obama’s Space Launch System ‘next essential step’: guest opinion, Huntsville Times “The SLS vehicle design materialized from an extensive, unbiased set of NASA technical studies which compared all possible scenarios, with a focus on efficiency and budget constraints.” Keith’s note: “Unbiased”, eh Mike? Nothing about “Apollo on Steroids” using Ares 1-X etc which also arose from what you call “an extensive, unbiased set […]

Former NASA Boss: Russia Has US Space Program in ‘Hostage Situation’, ABC “We’re in a hostage situation,” former NASA administrator Michael Griffin told ABC News. “Russia can decide that no more U.S. astronauts will launch to the International Space Station and that’s not a position that I want our nation to be in.” But there is a new sort of space race happening now to help reestablish U.S. autonomy. Three […]