NASA review panel announced - June 02, 2009
The fate of NASA is in their hands. Well, maybe it's not that drastic -- but it's true that everyone is wondering what will come of the review of NASA's human spaceflight programme, ordered by President Barack Obama. NASA announced the members of the 10-person panel on Monday. Part of the allure -- if a report-making committee ever really sparkles -- is that it is being chaired by former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine who, of course, has built a sort of cottage industry around his report-making committees, such as the National Academies' "Rising Above the Gathering Storm".
The panel balances aerospace experts and astronauts alongside two scientists. One is Princeton University's Chris Chyba, who, in addition to his work on exobiology, has also gotten involved in test ban treaty work, and is a member of Obama's council of science advisers. Another is Charles Kennel, who used to run NASA's Earth science programme, and at one point was a name mentioned for administrator.
Some have said this review isn't all that big of a deal -- just a way for the Obama administration to lay claim to the space programme, to give it its imprimatur. Others think that the committee could end up tinkering with the mantra of the Bush-era Vision -- Moon, then Mars -- to include things like near-Earth asteroids. More drastic would be a re-think of the Constellation architecture, the new moon ships. If they decide to question the approach taken with the Ares 1 rockets, then the billions spent by former Administrator Mike Griffin -- who was determined to retire the Shuttle and move on to something -- may have been for naught.
Oh -- if you want to submit your own comments, panel member and former astronaut Leroy Chiao has already tweeted that he wants to hear from you.
