Does Obama Have a Problem at NASA?
Tensions Reported Between Obama Transition Team and NASA Afministrator Mike Griffin
The obstruction, according to the Orlando Sentinel, is coming from none other than NASA Administrator Michael Griffin. The situation appears to have started when the Obama transition team asked, among other things, what amount of money would be saved by cancelling the Constellation return to the Moon program. Then:
"According to industry officials, Griffin started calling heads of companies working for NASA, demanding that they either tell the Obama team that they support Constellation or refrain from talking about alternatives.
"The companies, worried that Griffin may remain and somehow punish them if they ignore his wishes, have by and large complied.
"One consultant said that when Garver invited "several" mid-level aerospace executives to speak to the team, their bosses told them not to go and warned that anything said had to be cleared first with NASA because Griffin had demanded it.
"Documents and e-mails obtained by the Sentinel confirm NASA's efforts to coordinate what's said."
There have also been meetings among NASA officials to develop s strategy to save the return to the Moon program from the ax, should the ax be wielded.
Micheal Griffin has issued a statement denying that any intimidation or undue influence is taking place. "A recent report in the Orlando Sentinel suggested that NASA is not cooperating with members of President-elect Obama's transition team currently working at Headquarters. This report, largely supported by anonymous sources and hearsay, is simply wrong."
Tensions between Michael Griffin and Lori Garver apparently flared during a recent book publication party when the two had a forty minute heated discussion. Michael Griffin, noting that no one on Lori Garver's team has any engineering expertise, suggested that Garver was "not qualified" to judge the Constellation program. Garver will not comment about the conversation, but has hinted that there will be a new administrator chosen at NASA shortly and that there will be change to NASA policy.
Commentary on the Internet, especially in the comments sections of certain websites, has been rather heated. Michael Griffin has been compared to Adolf Hitler in the bunker, called a dictator, and accused of being insane.
But NASA Administrator Griffin is in a tight spot. While he, like other agency heads, has been instructed by the Bush administration to extend full cooperation to the Obama transition team, he also charged with seeing through the Constellation return to the Moon program, which includes dealing with political threats to it. The idea that yet another plan to explore space beyond Low Earth Orbit may be cancelled by a liberal Democratic administration must seem intolerable to Dr. Griffin. He has seen it happen before, in 1993, when Bill Clinton pounded the last nail in the coffin of George Bush Sr.'s Space Exploration Initiative.
Lori Garver merits some responsibility for the tense situation. Griffin's observation that there is no engineering expertise on her team is a correct one. The Garver NASA transition team is comprised solely of policy wonks and former bureaucrats. It would be difficult for them to judge programs such as Constellation, about which there is controversy even among engineers, without having that kind of expertise.
Also, by even posing the question of canceling Constellation, Garver made a major, political blunder. If Barack Obama is planning to cancel the return to the Moon program, she has just telegraphed that decision, giving its supporters time to organize against that decision. Constellation enjoys considerable support on Capitol Hill and, according to most polling data, with the public at larger. Particularly annoyed would be Florida Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat, whom Obama promised to preserve an even augment Constellation in return for Nelson's support in capturing Florida during the recent election.
If Barack Obama is not planning to cancel Constellation, then Lori Garver has picked a fight that was unnecessary and potentially damaging to the coming Obama administration. Obama has already reneged on a number of campaign promises. Suspicion that he will renege on one more will prove daunting.
Informed opinion suggests that Michael Griffin is on his way out as NASA administrator. This too may prove to be a political mistake. Outside the government, Dr. Griffin will be able to speak his mind fully. This will be yet another headache for Obama, especially if Constellation really is on the chopping block.
Source: NASA has become a transition problem for Obama, Robert Block, Orlando Sentinel, December 10th, 2008
Transition Turmoil, Space Politics, Jeff Foust, December 11th, 2008
A Message From the NASA Administrator, Michael Griffin, NASA Headquarters, December 10th, 2008
Published by Mark Whittington
Mark R. Whittington is a writer residing in Houston, Texas. He is the author of The Last Moonwalker, Children of Apollo, Dark Sanction, and Nocturne. He has written numerous articles, some for the Washington... View profile
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9 Comments
Post a CommentObama is of course uneducated about exactly what the space program has provided in medical, technological, and everyday use fields. Assume Obama is as bright as a two watt bulb and could not explain how that two watt bulb works or even what gas is inside that bulb. But I'll betcha he knows how to lie his way thru that lack of information too....
There are plenty of places to cut funding besides NASA. But really, we probably don't need to go anywhere out there for a little bit, so tell NASA to work on technological advances, instead of doing the same thing over and over.
There is only one thing I have emperical knowledge of: humans, because of their error makeing capability, have a specific form of error maned after them: "Human Error"
As long as the controversy Creation/Evolution continues; NASA may well be the biggest "Human Error" yet!
From the DGOGG (Dont Giveup On God Group)
Whoops, apparently my last comment got cut short. Here's the rest:
As for the previous comments about outsourcing... I agree that corporations should stop getting tax welfare and should stop outsourcing jobs (or worse, abusing the H1B visa system), but that has nothing directly to do with NASA or Constellation. It does have quite a lot to do with our current economic crisis, however. I just hope the new administration has the courage to do some real house cleaning.
There's no need for ad hominem attacks against a woman complaining that her daughter didn't have a 3rd grade math textbook.
Anyone who is a property owner is paying taxes to support their schools -- even those of us with no children! So instead of accusing other people of not paying their fair share simply because you don't agree with their viewpoint, and then posting anonymously like a coward, why don't you add something substantive to the discussion?
The fact is, NASA always gets threatened with the budget axe, but NASA is a vanishingly small part of the federal budget. Cutting NASA programs is popular with many politicians who want to be seen as accomplishing something fiscally positive / responsible. I'm frankly dismayed that Obama would be revisiting this issue after promising on the campaign trail that he'd "seen the light" and wouldn't go after the Constellation program. His revised position on NASA is what convinced me to vote for him.
As for the previous comments
How much of your stimulus check did you give to the school to support your daughters education? How much of your anual income tax rebate, I'd say refund, but I doubt you actually paid any taxes.
Why should anyone else pay up, when you can't be bothered to do so?
People who share your attitude are why so many things are still very wrong in the world today.
NASA is most likely being attacked due to religious leaders having some influence in our government. I can not fathom any other reason outside of complete sabotage of our science programs.
You should have taxed big business when you had the chance! My daughter went without a math book in her third year due to the absence of funds. Big business gets billions of dollars of tax breaks each year which could pay for these upgrades in our infrastructure. Outsourcing needs to be stopped! If Corporations want to do business in our country they need to employ 90% of U.S. citizens. If they don't their product should be banned from our shelves!
Yes, NASA is very important and should be kept around, and WHY NOT go back to the moon and make a base (If a secret one isn't there.), India is suppose to have one up by 2015 or so I believe. The only sad thing is, the NASA shuttles and such we see on TV are ancient compared to US Army space equipment.
I can't understand why Obama has NASA in his sites. Considering NASA budget, it's a small agency. Cutting NASA does nothing to change the Federal budget in any significant way. The only possible reason is an "all for show" speech about how "we don't need to go to space when roads need building here." I got news for Obama and Joe Public. Some of the current road-building technology came from NASA. Innovative cold-welding techniques came from NASA. NASA is probably the best return on the public's tax dollars of any Federal agency.