Looks like @RepRohrabacher wants to be the new chair of @HouseScience in the next Congress – if he's re-elected, that is. He's in a 50/50 tie with his opponent back home right now. Tick tock. https://t.co/lyumqxpkBU — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) September 9, 2018

Keith’s note: As you can see from this screen shot from the hearing’s webcast (shown only on NASA TV) as John Holdren and Charlie Bolden were testifying, that virtually no one other than Rep. Rohrabacher, ranking member Rep. Carnahan, and their staffs even bothered to show up for this hearing. A few selected tweets: – Rohrabacher: DOJ says that WH can do whatever it wants in terms of diplomacy. My […]

Fueling Stations vs. Monster Rocket, Dana Rohrabacher, Space News “At the end of our July 12 House Science, Space, and Technology Committee hearing, “A Review of NASA’s Space Launch System,” I asked NASA Administrator Charles Bolden about the relative cost of using the technology of on-orbit propellant depots instead of relying on new large heavy-lift launch vehicles. He replied that he believed the studies had been done, and the fuel […]

Hearing: Efforts to Transfer America’s Leading Edge Science to China “Panel I – Rep. Frank Wolf – Thomas Armstrong, Managing Associate General Counsel, GAO – John Holdren, OSTP Director – Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator Panel II – Rick Fisher, Senior Fellow, International Assessment and Strategy Center – Elizabeth Economy, Ph. D., Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations” Office of Science and Technology Policy–Bilateral Activities with China, October 11, 2011 “Section […]

NASA Is Considering Fuel Depots in the Skies, NY Times “Although General Bolden promised to provide the information, [Rep. Dana] Rohrabacher said he had obtained the study about propellant depots only through unofficial channels. “I’m shocked that the leadership in NASA would try to keep a report as significant as this away from decision makers of the legislative branch,” Mr. Rohrabacher said, adding that the study gave him “the ammunition […]

Internal NASA Studies Show Cheaper and Faster Alternatives to Space Launch System This presentation “Propellant Depot Requirements Study – Status Report – HAT Technical Interchange Meeting – July 21, 2011” is a distilled version of a study buried deep inside of NASA. The study compared and contrasted an SLS/SEP architecture with one based on propellant depots for human lunar and asteroid missions. Not only was the fuel depot mission architecture […]

Rohrabacher Demands Release of NASA’s Recent On-Orbit Fuel Depot Analysis “Today, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) continued his criticism of NASA’s new design for deep space exploration by sending a letter to former NASA’s Administrator Dr. Michael D. Griffin asking him to join Rohrabacher’s call for NASA to release their recent analysis and conclusions regarding on-orbit fuel depots. Dr. Griffin spoke about on-orbit technology during his testimony before the House Science, […]

Rohrabacher Reacts to Russian Soyuz Launch Failure; Calls for Emergency Funding of Commercial Crew Systems “I am calling on General Bolden, the NASA Administrator, to propose an emergency transfer of funding from unobligated balances in other programs, including the Space Launch System, to NASA’s commercial crew initiative. Funding should be used to speed up the efforts of the four current industry partners to develop their systems and potentially expand the […]

End of shuttle program doesn’t mean end of American leadership in spaceflight, Dana Rohrabacher, The Hill “Now, as we celebrate the accomplishments of the space shuttle, we look forward to blazing that new trail, one which will finally bring us closer to achieving the real dreams and true promise of the space shuttles: inexpensive, reliable, safe human spaceflight. This transformation won’t take place overnight. NASA, Congress and others still have […]