Former ARC Employee Sues Over Denied Access

Scientist sues after being banned from NASA site, AP

"A San Jose scientist who was barred from the NASA research operation in Santa Cruz over security concerns is suing the NASA Ames Research Center and the FBI. In a lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Haiping Su claims that his career and reputation were destroyed by what he contends are false accusations of being a "security threat." The 47-year-old Su had been assigned to NASA Ames' research center at UC Santa Cruz, but was barred from the facility after an FBI-led investigation."

Text of Haiping Su's complaint

James Hansen Arrested for Obstruction and Impeding Traffic

Hansen of NASA Arrested in Coal Country, NY Times

"James E. Hansen, the NASA climate scientist who has become an outspoken campaigner against coal burning, was among 29 protesters arrested as they intentionally crossed onto the property of Massey Energy, the biggest company conducting mountaintop mining in West Virginia."

Daryl Hannah, scientist arrested at W.Va. protest, AP

"Actress Daryl Hannah, NASA scientist James Hansen and more than two dozen other mountaintop removal mining opponents have been arrested during a protest in southern West Virginia. State Police said about 30 people were charged Tuesday afternoon after they blocked State Route 3 near a Massey Energy subsidiary's coal processing plant in Raleigh County."

HSPD-12 Update: Rep. Schiff Letter to Eric Holder

Schiff Requests Attorney General to Develop New Security Standards for JPL Employees, American Chronicle

"Rep. Adam Schiff wrote a letter to United States Attorney General Eric Holder requesting that he decline the opportunity to appeal a June 4, 2009 decision by Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of employees at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). In 2007, employees working at JPL sued NASA over background checks ordered pursuant to Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which required these employees to provided unnecessary personal information regarding workers health records, mental state, and sexual histories. In the letter, Rep. Schiff requested that the Attorney General develop new national security standards that protect our national security without trampling on the privacy of scientists and engineers."

Frank Low

Frank J. Low, Who Helped Drive Field of Infrared Astronomy, Dies at 75, NY Times

"Frank J. Low, who helped astronomers extend their vision beyond visible light into a vast realm of previously invisible colors, revolutionizing the study of the birth of planets, stars and galaxies, died on June 11 in Tucson. He was 75."

Jack Eddy

Note from Madhulika Guhathakurta (Lika) Guhathakurta, PhD:

Dear Team, It is with great sadness I bring the news that our team member Jack Eddy passed away on June 10th after his three year long battle with cancer. He served on the TR&T SC for as long as I can remember and I have learnt so much from him both professionally and personally. He has been an advisor to LWS program for the last 6 years and I will miss his wisdom as we move forward. Below I have attached information on his memorial service.

A Memorial Service will be held in Tucson on Saturday, June 27th at 11:00 am, with a reception following. The service will be at:

St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church
North Campbell at River Road
(4440 N. Campbell Avenue)

Jim Walker

Walker, physicist, trainer at NASA, Houston Chronicle

"James L. "Jim" Walker, who trained astronauts and worked in the Mission Control Center for NASA's Gemini missions and for the Skylab Program, died at home in Houston on May 31 after a battle with cancer. He was 69. Walker was born in the rural farming community of Somerset, Pa., on Sept. 22, 1939. His wife, Julie Noble-Walker, described him as a "brilliant physicist and the kindest soul you could ever meet."

Will Attorney General Holder Appeal HSPD-12 Decision?

Give JPL workers their space, opinion, LA Times

"Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. now has 60 days to decide whether to appeal the 9th Circuit's ruling to the Supreme Court. As Dan Stormer, one of the lawyers representing the JPL scientists, put it: "This really is a gut check for the Obama administration on privacy issues. No other administration ever has gone as far in invading the privacy of U.S. citizens, and it would be shocking if Holder proceeds with this." Holder already has shown a willingness to disengage from the Bush-Cheney regime's reckless overreaching, as in the case of the trumped-up espionage prosecution of two former employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The attorney general needs to do the right thing again and let the men and women of JPL get back to the serious business of exploring the universe."

JPL Employees Win Appeal on HSPD-12, earlier post

JPL Employees Win Appeal on HSPD-12

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Rules in Favor of JPL Employees Regarding Intrusive Background Investigations

"Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the federal government and in favor of employees at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the matter of Homeland Security Presidential Directive #12 (Nelson et al. vs NASA). Today's ruling denied a motion from the Department of Justice for an en banc hearing (a hearing before a large panel of the Ninth Circuit) on the question of overturning an injunction issued last year against NASA and the California Institute of Technology by a three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit. The earlier ruling was unanimous in favor of the JPL employees. Today's vote of all the judges of the Ninth Circuit, in denying this appeal, was described as "not close"."

Eilene Galloway Public Memorial Service

Keith's note: Reminder: Eilene Galloway Public Memorial Service, June 6, 10:00-12:00, Cosmos Club, Washington DC - info at Marcia Smith's new SpacePolicyOnline.com website (please visit).

Paul Haney

Haney, 'voice of NASA' reporter, dies of cancer, AP

"Paul Haney, who was known as the "voice of NASA's Mission Control" for his live televised reports during the early years of the space program, has died of cancer. He was 80. Haney died Thursday at a nursing home. Kent House, owner of the Alamogordo Funeral Home, confirmed that Haney died of complications from melanoma cancer, which spread to his brain and was untreatable. Haney became NASA's information officer in 1958, three months after the space agency was formed and went on to manage information from the Gemini and Apollo flight programs. He pioneered a real-time system of reporting events as they happened in the first manned flight program, Project Mercury."

Making The Big Decisions at NASA

Obama Turns to NASA Veterans to Lead Space Agency, Science

"President Barack Obama has chosen two long-time advocates of human space flight to lead NASA. On 23 May, the White House nominated former astronaut Charles Bolden Jr. and Washington lobbyist Lori Garver to take the positions of administrator and deputy administrator, respectively, for the space agency. If confirmed by the Senate, Bolden and Garver will confront a series of momentous decisions on where to take NASA in the coming decade."

Keith's note: Science Magazine did not do their homework. Lori Garver is not a lobbyist. In fact, she  only registered as a lobbyist for one year in 1988 for NSS/SpaceCause - 21 years ago.

Bolden calls graduates to action, Houston Chronicle

"A pilot and former Marine, Bolden encouraged the young doctors and scientists to follow the principles he learned in the Corps. "It's our core values -- honor, courage, commitment," he said. "... Be courageous in everything you do. Don't be afraid to stand up to someone who is about to do something wrong, because you know it's wrong. And be committed no matter where you happen to go."

New NASA Admin Rumors

Editor's note: There are more rumors making their rounds again as to who will be nominated as NASA administrator including one suggesting that Lori Garver, head of Obama's NASA transition team, would be the nominee. However our sources indicate that we should not put too much faith in recent rumors. So we'll just have to wait and see.

Even if a new administrator is nominated this week we know that acting administrator Christopher Scolese faces some tough decisions including resuming phased shutdown of shuttle operations on May 1. Once that process is started it will be difficult to add additional flights.

Has Gen Y Taken Over NASA?

Rebalancing NASA's Workforce, posting by Nick Skytland, opennasa.com

"I'd like to share with you some very important workforce policy news. Two weeks ago on March 19, the Agency's Strategic Management Council (SMC) decided to take action to rebalance our aging workforce. It is now agency policy that we have a goal of 50% of all new civil servant hires will be fresh-out hires. I list the main action here, then the remaining actions below."

Editor's note: "Agency policy? Oh really? Is this in the form of a NASA Policy Directive (NPD)? I can't seem to find it at NODIS. If, however, this is formal agency policy then it would be a new record given the time it usually takes for things to get through the legal gauntlet at NASA. Also, I would think that the agency would also use formal Human Resources means to inform the workforce of this major decision - and not let a unofficial website announce it. As such, I think a few folks have jumped the gun and/or are confused as to what the distinction is between an "action" coming out of an internal management meeting and a formal, governmental policy decree.

Now, don't get me wrong, NASA certainly has a skill mix and age imbalance that it desperately needs to fix in order to accomplish the tasks that lie ahead, but this starts to sound like slow-motion age discrimination to me. And to be quite honest, I am not certain that the job market for fresh-out hires can support NASA's needs or that an arbitrary 50% of the open positions within the agency can be (or should be) filled with people with little or no experience.

The process is a little more complex than a few people reacting to some Powerpoint charts. You can't just Twitter a policy into existence - at least not yet. Stay tuned.

Farewell, Moose

NASA Inspector General Robert Cobb Resigns

"NASA Inspector General Robert Cobb submitted a letter of resignation to the White House on Thursday, April 2, 2009. President Barack Obama accepted Cobb's resignation, which is effective April 11."

Steve Cook Wants to Be The Next Deputy Center Director at Marshall

Editor's note: That's right, Steve Cook wants to be Deputy Center Director at Marshall. He has been telling people he is now aiming for the job. Given that Cook already has a posse that goes around portraying him as a leader - including making certain that he is introduced at meetings as "the next von Braun" - such grand ambitions are not at all out of character. It will be interesting to see what Steve's official bio looks like when that is announced - with his previous accomplishments i.e. his role in the failures of X-33, X-34, ISS Propulsion Module, and (soon) Ares 1. At least he is consistent in his job performance.

Ares PDR Was Not As Smooth As NASA Says It Was, earlier post

"42. Not allowing RIDs to be written against the SRD and declaring it a finished document prior to the PDR was just arrogant and wrong. This was further evidenced and confused by the introduction of two version of the SRD, showing that it was in fact being changed behind the scenes."

Massive Layoffs Ahead?

U.S. contractors face layoffs unless NASA moves faster, Reuters

"U.S. contractors involved in human spaceflight will have to lay off up to 10,000 workers unless NASA accelerates orders for a new lunar lander and the space shuttle replacement program, a senior Boeing Co official said on Tuesday. The five-year gap between the end of the space shuttle program in 2010 and the follow-on Constellation program's first flight in 2015 is a challenge for the companies involved, Brewster Shaw, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space Exploration, told reporters at a space conference."

Settling In at MSFC

Lightfoot to get long Marshall interim term, Huntsville Times

"I'd say Robert Lightfoot should probably be getting comfortable in his role as acting Marshall director," said Keith Cowing, who runs the space agency watchdog Web site NASAWatch.com. "A center director position is generally appointed, with input from Congress, by the NASA administrator, but being that there is no permanent NASA administrator, this is a sort of unique time. "Even if a person was named to take over Marshall it could be months before that nominee is approved. Lightfoot is in charge for some time."

Dave King Is Retiring From NASA

King Retires as Director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

"David King, director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., is retiring from the agency to accept a position as executive vice president of Dynetics in Huntsville, effective immediately."

NASA MSFC Internal Memo: Message From the Center Director

"We have built a great team, and I am leaving the Center in great hands as Robert Lightfoot assumes the position of acting Center Director."

In a shakeup at Marshall Space Flight Center, Director Dave King resigns to become an executive vice president at Dynetics

"Critics have decried the Ares development as being behind schedule and over budget, but King has said in the past "any new program as complex as a new rocket design is going to run into problems and delays. If we knew how to do it then we wouldn't be developing Ares - we would be flying it," King told The Times."

Editor's note: According to MSFC sources, one of Dave King's last acts was to remove Jim Reuter from his position as Ares 1 Vehicle Integration Manager.  Hmm ... doesn't this strike anyone else (besides me) as being a little odd? Why did King wait until his last day on the job to do this? Did the rationale to make this management decision only emerge yesterday? Or was King unwilling/unable to do this while still on the job?

Mario Humberto Acuña

Mario Humberto Acuña, Washington Post

"Mario Humberto Acuña, 68, a NASA astrophysicist whose scientific instruments have flown on more than 30 NASA missions to every planet in the solar system, including the sun, died March 5 of multiple myeloma at his home in Bowie."

Former NASA Chief Of Staff Indicted

Former NASA official accused of steering funds to consulting client, CNN

"Courtney Stadd, 54, a former NASA chief of staff and White House liaison, is facing charges of making false statements and committing acts affecting a personal financial interest. When Stadd left NASA, he founded a management consulting firm called Capitol Solutions that specialized in providing services for clients in aerospace-related industries. One of those clients was Mississippi State University's GeoResources Institute. According to the indictment, in 2005, Stadd helped steer NASA funds from an earth science appropriation to his client."

Former NASA Official Charged in Scheme to Steer "Earmarked" NASA Funds to Consulting Client

"An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty."

Text of full indictment

Editor's note: Let me reiterate: "An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty."

"Presumed innocent" is the operative concept.

Editor's update: Courtney Stadd has posted a comment.

Aerospace Exodus to Alabama

Kennedy Space Center might lose thousands of jobs to Huntsville, Orlando Sentinel

"Aerospace-industry leaders plan to tell Florida legislators today that unless some miracle takes place to breathe new life into the space business at Cape Canaveral, the state's most skilled workers will almost certainly be leaving in droves to take jobs in Alabama. Thousands of top engineers are needed by 2011 at the Missile Defense Agency, an arm of the Pentagon in charge of developing an integrated U.S. missile-defense system for the country. The agency is moving its operations from its current home in northern Virginia to Huntsville, Ala. Already NASA's shuttle contractor, United Space Alliance, is negotiating with the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce to find work for many space-shuttle engineers when the shuttle program ends 18 months from now."

Gilbrech is new Associate Center Director at Stennis

Editor's note: According to an internal NASA memo dated 27 Feb 2009, Richard Gilbrech has been named to the position of Associate Director of Stennis Space Center.

NASA Closures Due to Snow Storm

Editor's note: NASA LaRC and GSFC are closed today due to the snow received over night. NASA HQ opened several hours late OPM advisory for Washington DC.

Gen Y Management Concept Update

Participatory Exploration: The Role of the User Contribution System

Editor's note: These charts by Nick Skytland, NASA JSC, were used as part of his presentation at the NASA PMC 2009 conference. Alas, Nick selectively plugs a non-NASA website - spacehack.org - a site that openly blocks some people from "collaborating" with what it does. Curiously, Nick cites this website in a presentation that is all about collaboration. One other thing, how is it that a NASA civil servant can exert usage restrictions on a document he created as a civil servant as part of his official duties? (see last chart). These materials are in the public domain.

Missing Pieces: What NASA's Gen Y Keeps Missing, Rhetoric & Rockets

"I invite you to visit this web site, and read where Nick Skytland, a Gen-Y civil servant at Johnson Space Center (JSC), posted a presentation from the PM Challenge conference entitled "Participatory Exploration: The Role of the User Contribution System." Go ahead, I'll wait. Okay, now that you've read that, I'll make some obligatory grumpy comments. These are being written in the spirit of constructive criticism, not "Siddown, kid, and wait your turn!" I'm looking at specifics in the presentations and so am asking/commenting about specifics."

Robert Wood

Payload specialist Robert Wood (1957-2009), CollectSpace

"According to the St. Louis Dispatch, former payload specialist Robert J. Wood died in a car accident on February 19. Though he never flew in space, as an engineer with the McDonnell Douglas Aeronautics Company (later Boeing), Wood was chosen as the second industry payload specialist in March 1985 and served as backup to payload specialist Charles Walker on STS-61B."

Life After CNN

Miles O'Brien Returns to Broadcast Journalism Anchoring Blueprint America Documentary on Public Television

"Acclaimed reporter and anchor Miles O'Brien will return to broadcasting this spring as the anchor and correspondent of a BLUEPRINT AMERICA documentary on public television, tentatively titled: "Blueprint America: A Tale of Three Cities." The documentary, presented by WNET.ORG, will take viewers in and around three very different cities--Portland, Denver, and New York--to look past the headlines about crumbling roads and bridges and explore what kind of infrastructure Americans need to meet the pressing challenges of the 21st Century. O'Brien will set out to learn what must be done to keep the nation competitive in the global economy, while at the same time addressing the realities of climate change, diminishing natural resources and population growth."

Shana Dale Update

Shana Dale, Former NASA Deputy Administrator, Joins the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies as Senior Fellow

"Shana L. Dale, the immediate past Deputy Administrator of NASA, is joining the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies as a senior fellow. Dale is a recognized senior executive and leader in aerospace and homeland security, and has broad experience in national security. She also has extensive federal government knowledge and experience, and proven abilities navigating the legislative process, White House policy and procedures, and agency operations."

Mel Averner

Obituary for Maurice M. "Mel" Averner

"In 1967, while on the faculty at Southern Oregon College, Dr. Averner co-authored the world's first monograph on terraforming Mars, entitled, "On the Habitability of Mars: An Approach to Planetary Ecosynthesis." Terraforming, or altering the atmosphere of Mars to make it habitable for humans, via planetary engineering processes, is still being discussed in planetary circles and is the seed to more current discussions of planetary or geo-engineering to reduce the impacts of global warming on our planet."

Mel Averner is survived by his ideas.

Editor's 6 Feb note: I just learned that my long time friend Mel Averner died last night. I will write something more lengthy at some point. Suffice it to say there were two people who taught more more than anyone else while I was at NASA - and after I left. Dick Keefe and Mel Averner. Not a thing happened in NASA's space life science programs in the 80's, 90's and recent years that was not directly or indirectly affected by Dick and Mel. Dick passed away several years ago. Mel was full of life and ideas up to the last moments of his life. I had a chance to speak with him last week. The conversation lasted 9 minutes. Long enough for him to say goodbye to me and for me to do so in exchange. Many of his friends had a chance to do the same. In so doing, Mel left little seeds in our minds - seeds that will continue to affect the way that we look at life on Earth and beyond for decades to come. I hope Mel's friends will take the time to post their thoughts below.

Non est ad astra mollis e terris via, but you helped pave the way, Mel.

Konrad Dannenberg

Editor's 12:07 pm note: I have just received word that Konrad Dannenberg has died. Details to follow.

Editor's update: According to a note from Dannenberg's family "The memorial service will be on Friday at 2:00 in the Davidson Center at the Space and Rocket Center."  There will be calling hours, no wake. Just the Memorial Service.

Dannenberg a true space ambassador, Huntsville Times

"He helped create moon rocket, but was most proud of teaching kids Yes, Konrad Dannenberg played a huge role in creating the rocket that took man to the moon. But he served an equally important function in motivating future engineers and astronauts as a lecturer at Space Camp for years after his retirement from NASA."

Editor's update: According to Konrad Danneberg's wife, Jackie, "in lieu of flowers, we are requesting that people donate to the Skylab Restoration Fund at the US Space and Rocket Center Foundation. For more information, see www.spacecamp.com or call 256-837-3400."

Monster.com/USAJobs.gov Breach & Information Theft

NASA Security Operations Center (SOC) General Security Bulletin Monster.com/USAJobs.gov Breach & Information Theft

"Summary: User information from USAJobs was compromised when their technology provider, Monster, was accessed without authorization.

Details: Monster, the technology provider for USAJobs.gov, was the target of an illegal attempt to access and extract information from their database. When the database was accessed, user contact and account data were taken."

WebTADS Does Not Know How Much Leave You Have

Reader note: "Apparently, NASA can not even accomplish such simple tasks as having an employee's current leave accounted for in it's time keeping and leave system (WebTADS) at the beginning of the leave year. It's not rocket science, is it? What company of this size has such practices and what is the NASA CIO's position in regard to such lack of functionality and currentness of this system?"

From Web TADS: "WebTADS leave balances are due to be loaded into the system by February 2, 2009."

Roselee Roberts Joins ESMD

From: exploration-bounces@lists.hq.nasa.gov
Sent: Mon Jan 12 07:57:17 2009
Subject: [exploration] Welcome Roselee Roberts

Rebecca L. Spyke Keiser, Ph.D. Chief of Staff
Exploration Systems Mission Directorate

Scolese as Acting Administrator?

Editor's note: Some issues are being worked between DOJ and the White House as to whether Chris Scolese can serve as Acting Administrator when Mike Griffin departs until the Obama Administration's candidate is confirmed by the Senate.

Contrary to some rumors going around, Shana Dale will most certainly not be Acting Administrator. Friday is her last day at NASA.

It is important to note that this is a personnel issue being managed by the current Bush Administration - not the Obama Transition Team since it deals with personnel events before 20 January.

Ruben Van Mitchell, Jr.

Editor's note: This is from Dorinda White via a friend of Ruben's: "It is with great sadness that I must inform you of the passing of a wonderful loved one, friend and colleague, Ruben Van Mitchell, Jr. Ruben died peacefully in the early hours of December 31, 2008 after a long illness and complications following surgery. A memorial service will be held to celebrate his life on Saturday, January 10, 2008 at 1 pm at the Maranatha Gospel Hall, 4910 13th St. NW Washington, DC 20011. Please feel free to contact Dorinda White, his longtime companion at 202.491.3033. Correspondence can be sent to The Mitchell Family, c/o Dorinda White, 13809 Piscataway Drive, Fort Washington, MD 20744. Please join us as we celebrate the life of this wonderful man."

Launching the 21st Century American Aerospace Workforce

New Report Details Aerospace Workforce Needs, Remedies, AIA

"A new report from the aerospace industry promotes the need to convince more students to study math and science and makes proposals to senior policy makers to improve those education disciplines. The new report, "Launching the 21st Century American Aerospace Workforce," documents steps the industry is taking to head off a potential workforce crisis and makes nine policy recommendations to government partners. The report is a follow-up to an analysis released earlier this year that detailed the goals and actions the industry must take to meet the challenge."

This is Just Not Right

NASA, Space Gateway Support Fail to Make Apology, The Earth Times

"NASA and Space Gateway Support still have not issued an apology to identity theft victim David Welch after software engineer Kevin Landivar used a NASA computer to destroy Welch’s credit in July."

More from NASA's Gen Y Employees

Report on "Cross-Generational Discussions and Activities", Opennasa.com

"Last April, representatives of the next generation workforce community attended the NASA Strategic Management Council (SMC) at Stennis Space Center to discuss strategic workforce issues. The SMC is a top-level meeting with the NASA Administrator and top senior leadership across the agency."

Editor's note: What mystifies me is why this crowd can only seem to present things in Powerpoint. I have yet to see an actual written report from them - one that uses words in sentences, paragraphs, and chapters, and goes into depth in describing the issues that are raised. Relying on Powerpoint slides composed of pictures and one sentence catch phrases does not do the topic the justice that it deserves since this is all that 99.99% of the audience not in attendance ever sees. The response that is often offered is that these slides were used as part of a presentation. OK, where's the video of that presentation? And why is it that this material can only (seemingly) be presented in the form of Powerpoint slides that someone has to then explain and expand upon? Can't someone come up with a self-contained presentation that speaks for itself - in full detail - one that can be read? If the proponents of the ideas listed on these slides cannot explain themselves in writing, what does that say about their ability to fully communicate?

Short blog posts just don't cut it.

Editor's update: One of my readers pointed out that there was a report - but the link is all the way at the bottom of a blog posting. My oversight. You guys might want to make these links a bit more prominent - and fix the broken link that starts with "ohttp://www .... ".

The report "NASA Center Cross-Generation Discussions Summary of Efforts & Results from Ames, Dryden, Glenn, Goddard, Johnson, Kennedy, Langley, Marshall & Stennis" is mostly a loosely knit shopping list of things that people are doing or that people want to see done. The underlying reason(s) for doing these things, i.e. why they are important, how they are chosen, and ow their effectiveness measured, is more or less absent. There is also mention of a "One NASA Philosophy" - something that is not defined - is this just something for civil servants or is NASA's (much larger) pool of contractor employees part of this as well? Nor is there any description of just what generation(s) are being discussed, who fits into which one, and why this "next gen" should be getting different treatment than previous generations. In addition, no author names or contact information is included. How does one seek more information on these topics or offer help? Oddest of all is why the bulk of the visibility and public discussion for this official NASA effort is being done by NASA employees via their own privately-run website. Shouldn't all of NASA be in on this?

Nice start - but this is simply a Powerpoint presentation with lots of words. Maybe the Obama folks will re-initialize this entire discussion such that it results in progress agency-wide and not just verbiage posted in niche locations.

(yet another) Powerpoint presentation below

Steven J. Ostro

Editor's note: From the DPS: "IN MEMORIAM: STEVEN J. OSTRO: We are very sorry to report the news that pioneering JPL radar astronomer Steve Ostro died early on the morning of Monday December 15th. The following appreciation is based on a note sent by Bonnie Buratti to Steve's Cassini colleagues."

Steve was a luminary in the field of Radar Astronomy, and received the DPS Kuiper prize in 2003 for his groundbreaking work in asteroid and satellite radar studies. Steve's seminal work on the surface properties of the Galilean satellites - which he was extending to the Cassini Radar data he was gathering and analyzing up to a few days before he died - led to the development of new models to explain how electromagnetic radiation interacts with ice. He and his colleague Lance Benner almost single handedly established the field of radar studies of Near Earth Objects. Steve received his PhD from MIT in 1978 under Gordon Pettengill and Irwin Shapiro. He was a professor of Astronomy at Cornell University before coming to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1984, where he established the radar astronomy group. Steve gave of his time freely to younger colleagues and students. His collegiality and intellectual honesty will be missed. Steve died of pneumonia after a silent and courageous battle with cancer. He leaves his wife of 40 years, Jeanne Ostro, and three children.

We are constructing a web page, which will shortly be linked from the DPS home page at http://dps.aas.org/, where we will post any details about memorial services, etc. as we receive them.

Do It Yourself Awards at LaRC

NASA LaRC Internal memo: CD Comm # 2008-02 - Improving Financial Performance: Look What's New in Langley's Awards Program!

"Have you ever wanted to say "thank you" to a co-worker or a colleague for a job well done or for going above and beyond in order to help you complete a project or important task? Maybe because of colleague's assistance, you were able to complete a project on time and move on to the next one. Now you will be able to say "thank you" using the new Langley Peer Award."

Yet Another NASA Employee Survey

Message from the Assistant Administrator for Human Capital Management: Survey of NASA's Employee Performance Communication System

"On Dec. 8, the NASA Shared Services Center will ask you via e-mail to participate in an important NASA civil service employee survey. This survey will give you an opportunity to evaluate NASA's current performance management system, the Employee Performance Communication System (EPCS). The EPCS does not cover Senior Executive Service (SES), Senior Scientific and Technical (ST) or Senior Level (SL) employees. One purpose of the EPCS to create a performance culture that focuses on two-way communication and accountability for results that contribute to the accomplishment of the agency's mission. Another purpose of the EPCS is to provide a means to differentiate between high and low performers. Your honest, thoughtful and candid responses to the survey will help us determine whether or not the intended purposes of the EPCS are being met and identify changes that may be necessary."

Guilty Plea in Redstone Murder Case

Huntsville Woman Pleads Guilty in High-Speed Chase That Killed NASA Worker, News 10

"A Huntsville woman accused of murdering a NASA worker on Redstone Arsenal has pleaded guilty in the case. Valorie Cox was driving the car in the high-speed chase with Huntsville Police on May 30.  She drove onto the Arsenal and crashed into a pickup truck driven by 39-year-old Darren Spurlock."

Shana Dale's Last NASA Blog Entry

NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale's Blog: Last Entry - November 26,2008

"This will be my last entry on this blog as I prepare to transition out of NASA in January 2009. When people, regardless of where they live around the world, find out that I work at NASA, their eyes light up. It is a tribute to this great Agency! People around the world hold NASA in the highest regard. And they should. This is a special place with exciting missions that push the frontiers of human knowledge, and it's filled with people that love the work they do and are completely committed to America's space program."

There's No Politics In NASA Hiring

Michael Griffin Chats About NASA's Future Under President Obama, Discovery Space

"In past years, we've had too many examples where that wasn't the case. The Bush administration did not mandate even one person that I had to have to fill out the NASA management team, so I was able to pick a good team and that's absolutely essential for any agency. We can't pick people to run a space agency based on politics and I won't be party to that either."

Editor's note: C'mon Mike. Everyone knows that all government agencies get political hires shoved down their throats. For you to try and suggest that your tenure at NASA is an exception to this practice is silly. What about Paul Morrell?, Joe Davis?, Dave Mould?, Patrick Rhode? Jane Cherry? George Deutsch? Ellen Engelman Conners? And so on.

Watch Out For Burrowing at NASA

Top Scientist Rails Against Hirings, Washington Post

"The president of the nation's largest general science organization yesterday sharply criticized recent cases of Bush administration political appointees gaining permanent federal jobs with responsibility for making or administering scientific policies, saying the result would be "to leave wreckage behind."

Administration Moves to Protect Key Appointees, Washington Post

"Just weeks before leaving office, the Interior Department's top lawyer has shifted half a dozen key deputies -- including two former political appointees who have been involved in controversial environmental decisions -- into senior civil service posts."

The Burrowing of the Bushies, Washington Post

"It happens every time a president leaves office: Some of his political appointees don't want to go, so they "burrow in" to the civil service."

Now NASA's CIO Position is Open (Shh! Don't tell anyone)

Editor's note: Now NASA's Chief Information Officer (CIO) position is open at NASA HQ. But hurry up folks - once again it looks like NASA wants to slip this crucially important position under the Transition Team's nose in stealth mode between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The position is open 20 Nov - 4 Dec. That's 5 working days (2 already gone) and then 2 days for a weekend before Thanksgiving. 1 day is lost on Thanksgiving itself, another lost on the Friday afterwards and then 2 more on the weekend. That leaves 4 days before the position closes at COB 4 Dec 2008.

In reality, only 9 working days are being offered by NASA to announce and then gather applications for one of the more critical positions for an agency poised on the cusp of 21st century innovation and exploration in an ever more networked world.

We've all been wondering when Jonathan Pettus would gather up things to bring with him and engineer his return to MSFC (where critical agency IT systems have no back up power supplies).

Given the critical responsibilities of this position (below), wouldn't it be exercising plain old common sense to allow the incoming Obama team to make this selection? Mike Griffin does not seem to think so. Indeed, to allow such a critical position to be filled in this hectic manner is simply irresponsible on Mike Griffin's part.

The NASA Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for providing vision, leadership and advice in the development of information resource management (IRM) strategies; for ensuring the establishment of cost effective policies, programs and frameworks that develop and implement IRM and information technology (IT) programs and initiatives in areas supporting agency priorities; and for ensuring that agency IRM, IT, and IT security activities are conducted in accordance with strategic, program/project management, and capital planning and investment processes aligned and integrated with agency priorities. Specifically, the incumbent:

-Interfaces with external entities involving CIO related matters of administration, legislative, public, industry and academia relations or interests. Ensures appropriate coordination and response to external audits and/or assessments conducted by the General accounting Office, the Office of the Inspector General, and others.

Curious CIO Job Opening (Shh! Don't tell anyone)

Editor's note: There is an opening for a Information Technology Specialist in the Architecture and Infrastructure Division of the Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at NASA HQ. The open period extends from 14-28 November 2008 - i.e. only two weeks. This seems to be a little odd: picking such a position in the midst of a presidential administration transition - with the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the middle of the open period. One would think that such a permanent position would allow a wider range off applicants to apply and do so over a longer period of time - one not overlapping a major national holiday when many people take long periods off. Moreover, given the ongoing transition, and the responsibilities this person would have across the entire agency (see below) wouldn't it be better to allow the new NASA management team to fill this position - or decide to handle these tasks differently? Hmm ... on the other hand .. could it be that someone at NASA is looking for a place to "burrow" in from a political to a career position?

MAJOR DUTIES:

The duties of this position include, but are not limited to:

* Serving as the program Executive for Agency web portals and services, including COTR for web services contracts.

* Overseeing contract administration activities for long-term, extensive technical service contracts.

* Planning and formulating policies, programs, and procedures governing information dissemination functions for a significant organizational component of an Agency such as the Scientific and Technical Information (STI). As well as collaboration with Public Affairs on the web content management.

* Providing consultation to managers on developing public affairs activities and materials for internal and external use.

* Acting as an expert advisor and technical authority on complex and precedent-setting policy and program issues, developing policies, strategies, and plans for technical information programs/projects for agency-wide application.

* Providing expert advice and guidance on government programs and policies which are of significant interest to the public and Congress.

Breaking NASA's Glass Ceiling

America's Best Leaders: Fiona Harrison & Maria Zuber, NASA scientists, US News & World Report

"Maria Zuber noticed something strange on her first NASA mission. As a geophysicist in the 1980s, she was working on the science team designing the Mars Observer, an unmanned spacecraft that was supposed to be the first to study the geoscience and climate of Mars. "Somebody called me up," she recalls, "and said, 'Do you know on this mission there are 87 science investigators, and you're the only woman?'"

Gene Goldman Is the New Center Director at Stennis

Gene Goldman Named as Director of NASA Stennis Space Center

"NASA has named Arthur E. (Gene) Goldman as the new director of NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The promotion of Goldman, the center's deputy director since October 2006, is effective immediately. He replaces Bob Cabana, who left in October to become the director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida."

Axel Roth

Editor's note: Internal NASA MSFC message: "Axel Roth, who served as Marshall Center associate director before retiring in 2004, passed away Nov. 12. Visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, at Laughlin Funeral Home in Huntsville. Funeral services will be held from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15, at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Huntsville (on Bailey Cove Rd in SE Huntsville)."

Axel had been battling bone cancer. Gloria, his wife, Axel's four sons - Karl, Kurt, Eric and Peter - and their families rallied around him with uncompromising devotion. Axel is also survived by his brother Volker Roth and wife Pamela. Axel and Volker were the sons of Ludwig Roth, one of the original members of Wernher von Braun's Rocket Team.

Axel and Gloria Roth's address is 2610 Arrowhead Dr SE, Huntsville, AL 35803."

Keith Sefton

Internal memo: Keith Sefton's Memorial Arrangements

"Keith's life will be celebrated with a Memorial service to be held at the Marine Corps Base Quantico Chapel at 1300 (1 PM) on Friday, November 14th. At the conclusion of the service, a good old "Irish wake" will be held at an appropriate location near the chapel. All are welcome. Keith will be interned at Arlington Memorial Ceremony next spring."

NASA Mourns the Loss of Deputy General Counsel Keith T. Sefton

"Keith was known by his call sign, "Words," both for his prodigious talent as a writer and his ability to get right to the point. If Diogenes were still searching for the "honest man," it would only be because he hadn't yet met Keith. He made everyone better by his presence."

NASA FCU Gets New Office In Falls Church

NASA Federal Credit Union Buys Falls Church Bldg.

"Greenbelt, MD-based NASA Federal Credit Union purchased the retail property at 1130 W. Broad St. in Falls Church, VA, from Jackson Building LLC for nearly $2.73 million, or about $545 per square foot."

Map

Job Cuts Are Inevitable at KSC

KSC's Cabana says job cuts are coming no matter what, Orlando Sentinel

"The new director of Kennedy Space Center, Bob Cabana, said thousands of job losses are coming to the center and Brevard County, whether the space shuttle is retired on schedule in 2010 or the next administration gives it a brief reprieve. ... "There are going to be cuts. There's no two ways about it," Cabana told reporters on Friday morning in his first press conference since staring the job earlier in the week. "The space shuttle program is going to end. Even if it gets extended for a little bit, eventually it's going to end. And when it ends there are going to be people out of work."

ARC Layoffs? UPDATE

Closures & Layoffs (Oct. 26-Nov. 1): Fortune 500s Sharpen Their Axes, CoStar Group

"While news of layoffs across the financial services spectrum have become commonplace from the implosion of Wall Street investment banks this year, the past week has produced a stunning array of new cutbacks across the rest of corporate America. ... Perotsystems is laying off 58 employees on Nov. 5 at Building 233a M/S 233-1 NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field."

Editor's note: ARC Sources tell me that this is actually a book keeping issue - Perotsystems bought another company and the employees are still on the job.

Lloyd Chamberlain

Lloyd W. Chamberlain III

"Lloyd began his full-time career with NASA as Electronics Engineer at its flight facility on Wallops Island, VA. His work with NASA then took him to the Kennedy Space Center and, following a promotion in 1987, Lloyd accepted a position at NASA HQ in Washington, DC. During that time Lloyd lived with his wife and three children in Reston, Sterling and Woodbridge, VA. In 1991 he accepted a new position with the Kennedy Space Center and has lived with his family in Merritt Island since then."

Leon Kosofsky

Leon J. Kosofsky, NASA Engineer

"Leon J. Kosofsky, 88, a retired NASA photogrammetric engineer who created detailed maps of the moon's surface, died Oct. 10 at his home in Bethesda. He had melanoma. Mr. Kosofsky joined the space agency in the early 1960s. As a project engineer for the Lunar Orbiter program of unmanned photographic satellites, he created maps of the moon to help locate places for manned missions to land."

Here We Go Again

The Lisa Nowak Case, Back in Court, NY Times

Fla. judges mull evidence for ex-astronaut's trial, AP

"The appellate judges on Tuesday questioned whether Nowak waived her rights before the interview and what detectives knew before they searched her car. They wanted to know if detectives would have found Nowak's car without the help of her statements. Assistant Attorney General Kellie Nielan argued that Nowak voluntarily waived her Miranda rights by continuing to talk to detectives during the interview."

The Right Stuff

NASA Michoud Assembly Facility's Hurricane Gustav Rideout Crew Honored with Director's Commendation Award

"David King, director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has awarded the Director's Commendation to members of the Hurricane Gustav rideout crew at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans for their outstanding effort in planning and implementing emergency operations to protect the facility. As Hurricane Gustav approached the Gulf Coast, the 51-person rideout crew stayed on the Michoud site to secure the facility, monitor the hurricane and ride out the storm. Its members include NASA civil service, Lockheed Martin contractor employees and Coastal International Security personnel."

Editor's note: I was at MAF a matter of weeks after Katrina. I saw things in the faces of the people who worked there that I never expected to see. How and why they do things harkens back to another time. This is not the first time that these folks have taken significant personal risks to preserve critical aspects of America's human space flight program. They do so in a no-nonsense fashion - and when you ask them why, as I did, they say things such as "because its my job, sir". To those of you sitting behind desks at NASA: think of that later today when you stop what you are doing simply because your car pool is about to leave. During Katrina these people stayed on the job as their families and homes risked - or actually experienced - utter destruction. And then they lived at work for weeks sleeping on cots.

Beth Brown

Sent: Wed 10/8/2008 9:13 AM
Subject: GODDARD MOURNS THE LOSS OF DR. BETH BROWN

Colleagues: This weekend, Goddard lost a member of its family with the passing of Dr. Beth Brown, the Director for Science Communication and Higher Education for the Science and Exploration Division. Her loss was sudden and unexpected and it has left us all with a sense of profound sadness. Dr. Brown was one of Goddard's rising stars. She was only recently appointed to this new position in Code 600, after having completed a 2-year NASA Administrator Fellowship.

Dr. Brown received her undergraduate degree in astrophysics from Howard University, and received an M.S. and Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Michigan. She was the first African-American woman to obtain a doctorate from the University of Michigan's Department of Astronomy. Dr. Brown's first position at Goddard began in 1998 as an NRC Research Associate. She joined the National Space Science Data Center in January 2001 as a civil servant. In 2005, Dr. Brown moved over to the X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory, providing science support for the GSFC XMM Guest Observer Facility while continuing science support and data acquisition for the NSSDC.

There will be a memorial service for Dr. Brown at the Metropolitan Baptist Church [1225 R St. NW, Washington, DC 20009, (202) 299-9657] on Thursday, Oct. 9. The funeral with a wake (viewing) is from 9:30-11 a.m., and the funeral service is from 11-12 p.m. Directions to the church can be obtained through the following link: http://www.metropolitanbaptist.org/Directions.asp

On behalf of Goddard and her legion of friends and colleagues, our deepest sympathy, thoughts and prayers go out to Dr. Brown's family.

Rob Strain
Center Director

NIOSH Says No Cancer Cause at GRC Building

NASA Glenn Releases Results of NIOSH Findings Related to Health Concerns

Report: NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland Did Not Cause Cancer in Employees, Cleveland Plain Dealer

"The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health revealed the results of an investigation into two buildings at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland which aimed to determine whether the buildingd caused cancer in employees. The federal agency determined that the buildings were not the cause of cancer in 65 past and present employees. The results were released Wednesday following concerns by a union."

IFPTE on NASA Conference Limitation Memo

IFPTE Memo to NASA ARC Employees Regarding Conference Limitation

"... we deplore the hysterical reaction by HQ management. Their over-reaction is not helpful and is likely making things worse. Remember this spending restriction was a Senate reaction to true NASA management excesses; NASA management should repent and pledge to take the brunt of the medicine, rather than showing contempt and passing on the pain to its technical employees."

NASA Internal Memo: New Controls on NASA Conference Participation in FY 09, earlier post

New KSC Center Director

Cabana to Succeed parsons as NASA Kennedy Space Center Director

"NASA announced Tuesday that William Parsons, director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is leaving the agency in mid-October to pursue opportunities in the private sector. Parsons will be succeeded by former astronaut Robert Cabana, currently director of NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Gene Goldman, Stennis' deputy director, will become the acting center director."

Hundreds of People Laid off at Michoud

Hundreds Of Workers At NASA's Michoud Get Pink Slips, WDSU

"Hundreds of people received pink slips Monday at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans."

Joe Batis

Editor's note: Internal memo: "We are saddened to announce that Joe Batis, KSC USA IT Director, has passed away. Joe was battling cancer for the last several months. We in the IT community have known Joe for several years and will miss working with him. This is a tremendous lost to the USA, KSC and NASA IT communities. We extend our deepest condolences to Joe's family and USA team members."

Security Problems at NASA

NASA OIG Final Report: [A NASA] Center's Security Program Needed Improvement

"The Office of Inspector General conducted this audit in response to a request from the Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, to investigate allegations received by his office of serious security concerns at a NASA Center. Our overall objective was to determine whether security services provided at the Center complied with NASA Security Program requirements, policies, and procedures. Our audit validated the overarching premise of the allegations. We found that the Center's security program was not in compliance with NASA Security Program requirements and that NASA Headquarters was not inspecting the Center's program, as required by NASA policy."

Forsythe Is Officially NASA's Security AA

NASA Names Agency Security Office Assistant Administrator

"Jack L. Forsythe has been named NASA's assistant administrator of the Office of Security and Program Protection at Headquarters in Washington. He has been serving as the interim chief since earlier this year."

Saleeba Replaced as Head of NASA Security, earlier post

JSC Is Reopening

NASA's Johnson Space Center To Reopen Monday After Ike

"NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston is scheduled to reopen Monday, Sept. 22, ending its closure related to Hurricane Ike. Johnson shut down Sept. 11 as Ike approached the Texas coast."

NASA JPL Timekeeping - The Dilbert Way

NASA JPL Internal Memo: New Non-productive Effort Requirement

"Recently, NASA requested that JPL track the time that our non-overtime eligible employees are absent from work for less than a full day (non-productive time) when such absences result in the employee working less than their regular weekly schedule. In support of this request, we needed to make a change to our current timekeeping requirements and allow non-overtime eligible employees to allocate their non-productive hours to a separate account. Time that is charged to non-productive effort will not decrement vacation and/or sick leave accruals."

Editor's note: This is defintely Dilbert material. You are asking employees to openly admit and document the amount of time that they were goofing off, daydreaming in the cafeteria, doing something other than what they were supposed to be doing, just not present, or reading NASA Watch. Gee, I wonder how accurate this latest accounting master stroke will be.

JSC Remains Closed

NASA's Johnson Space Remains Closed After Hurricane Ike

"NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston remains closed and likely will be limited to recovery operations for the next week. Johnson may not be open for normal operations until the week of Sept. 21."

Patsy Douglass Webb

Patsy Douglass Webb, age 96, widow of James E. Webb, who led NASA during the Apollo Lunar Program of the 1960s, died August 2 at her home in Oakland, CA.

Today's Video: Fighting for a job I love!

Editor's 11 Sep note: I guess this guy is about to lose his job at KSC. Too bad - he clearly loves it and he seems to do excellent work. This is a truly novel approach to try and save one's job. I would urge others to follow.

NASA and Congressional leaders might be a little more reluctant to fire people if they had to look into their eyes and hear their story.

Editor's update: When I posted this item 21 hours ago the video had been viewed 215 times. At this moment that count is up to 1,398. Y'all need to start making more videos. The more voices that are heard, the stronger the collective message will be.

Editor's update: After 24 hours it is now up to 1,797 views.

Video below.

People Still Want to Come to Work for NASA

The Best Places to Launch a Career, Business Week

"To lure and keep young talent when cash is tight, companies of all stripes are appealing to Gen Yers' ambitions for speedy advancement - and their desire to do good while doing well."

Best Places to Launch a Career 2008, Business Week

"16 NASA"

GAO on NASA Use of Term Appointments

GAO: NASA Workforce: Briefing on National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Use of Term Appointments

"Since receiving its expanded human capital flexibilities, NASA has steadily increased its use of term appointments when hiring new employees. Subsequently, NASA has increased the number of conversions from term to career or career-conditional appointments. From 2003 through 2007, the majority of employees who separated from NASA voluntarily retired. Less than 1 percent separated because the employee's appointment expired. NASA's goal is to evolve to a science and engineering workforce that at a minimum is comprised of 15 percent term/temporary appointments by 2013. However, NASA centers are given the option to use term appointments for other positions."

OIG on ET Contractor Transition Efforts

Closeout Inquiry of $39.5 Million Contract Modification Award to Lockheed Martin Space Systems, New Orleans, NASA OIG

"The following business and technical factors were considered in NASA's decision to provide incentives to retain the contractor's External Tank workforce: a) increasing attrition data; b) significant local employment opportunities available; c) past lessons learned from United States Air Force/Lockheed Martin Titan Program efforts to retain critical skills; and d) risk of mission failure."

NASA Hurricane Status

NASA's Stennis Remains Closed After Gustav, Will Reopen Thursday

"Because of Hurricane Gustav's impact on employees who live in Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast in south Mississippi, NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center will remain closed Wednesday, Sept. 3. The center will reopen for normal business hours Thursday, Sept. 4."

Shuttle Atlantis' Move To Pad On Standby For Hanna

"Managers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., will closely follow Tropical Storm Hanna to determine when would be the best time this week to move space shuttle Atlantis to its launch pad."

MAF Status

"MAF will remain closed until further notice.  NASA will make the determination of when to open the facility once a full assessment of the facility and the outlying community is obtained." 

Hurricane Gustav Slams Into Gulf Coast

Hurricane GUSTAV Public Advisory
GOES East 1 km Infrared Weather Satellite Image, NASA
Gustav Updates, NOAAWatch.gov
[New Orleans Traffic webcams] [Louisiana traffic webcams]

NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility Closes For Hurricane Gustav, NASA [MAF Status Blog]
Stennis Space Center To Close For Hurricane Gustav, NASA [SSC EOC Bulletins]
Hurricane GUSTAV Coastal Watches/Warnings and 3-Day Track Forecast Cone, NOAA
Hurricane Local Statements for GUSTAV, NOAA
Hurricane Gustav News and Storm Tracking, NOLA.com

A Farewell Message Worth Reading

Editor's 25 Aug note: The following farewell message was openly sent to several hundred employees at NASA MSFC. It is well worth reading.

Editor's 26 Aug Update: The author of this memo has responded with additional comments.

From: Finckenor, Jeffrey L. (MSFC-EV32)
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2008 8:23 AM
To: [Hundreds of people at NASA MSFC and Elsewhere]
Subject: Farewell Address

I wanted to let you know that I am leaving NASA. I am leaving civil service and going to work on Army helicopters, within walking distance of my current desk. My last day here is September 5.

In my 19 years here I have always been struck and humbled by the amazing level of talent of all of you. As well as how friendly, helpful and dedicated so many people have been. During much of my career here I've been tickled that I could actually get paid to do things that were so much fun.

As many of you can probably guess, the immediate cause of my departure is the CAD/PDM issue, but even I realize that this is just a symptom of much larger, agency wide problems. It just happens to be the particular symptom I'm close to and know something about. Over the last few years numerous people have asked if there was any hope the CAD/PDM problem could be fixed. My answer was usually that "I'm still here, so I still have hope". Well, I no longer have hope. With catastrophic level risks accumulating across the program, and a steadfast refusal to accept reality, it's become clear to me that as bad as things are they are going to have to get a whole lot worse before the pieces can be picked up and we can get something that works.

At the highest levels, there seems to be a belief that you can mandate reality, followed by a refusal to accept any information that runs counter to that mandate. I'm sure you can all think of multiple examples (having nothing to do with CAD) without trying very hard. This reminds me of Clark's law: "Sufficiently advanced cluelessness is indistinguishable from malice" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark%27s_Law). I've heard others use terms like "arrogance combined with ignorance".

If you've seen the recent NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel report, one of the things they point out is how low morale is at such an early stage in the program. Early on, expectations and excitement are supposed to be at the highest. To me there seems to be a connection. A number of you have said to me words along the lines of "if I do my part well, then maybe I can hope all these other problems will get worked out." I hope they do get worked out, and I'm sorry that my contributions are no longer desired.

Then between us workers and the highest levels of management another problem exists. As one person put it: "Where does the bad news stop going up?" Again, I'm sure you all know of situations where people are trying to raise red flags, but somehow they never get addressed. It reminds me of the old joke about promoting growth with powerful effects.

http://www.thejokejukebox.com/jokes/817.php (S-word warning). One group I know of is considered a success at the highest levels, not because they've achieved anything, but only because they've voiced problems. Program level management is so amazed at getting actual input from workers that it doesn't matter that the news itself is bad.

And I regret that, despite mandatory "No Fear" training, retaliation is real even if kept strictly legal. I've been here awhile, and am not naive enough to expect much thanks for helping maintain the critical path for the last 3 years. However I didn't expect a threat of personnel actions that typically lead to firing. I didn't expect to be personally badmouthed by an ED manager in public (when I was not there) on more then one occasion. However I'm not surprised that the fact that I talked to the IG was relevant in determining if I would get the one job that might have kept me at NASA. When I first started arguing that MSFC had made a bad decision it was with the sure knowledge that it might cost me my job. For the past 3 years I've wondered if I'd still be here 6 months later, and now that time has come - despite the fact that things are arguably worse then we predicted 3 years ago.

I am relieved that I can put this stress behind me. And I'm glad that I can leave with a clear conscience. I've done everything I could for NASA that anyone, especially myself, could ask. I can leave knowing that I am not turning my back on NASA, but that NASA is turning its back on me. NASA has a big reality check coming and I can't begin to guess how it will all turn out.

I've loved NASA since I was a kid. The attached picture was drawn when I was 10 (if I remember right). If you can't read my 10 year old handwriting (or my 40+ handwriting for that matter :) ) it says:

"If I had a lot of money, I would like to go to the moon. the reason is I like things in space, and I could study the moon. However if I couldn't go to the moon, I would like to go to NASA and stay a few days."

I guess 7000 or so days counts as a few, so I've achieved that childhood goal.

So again, thank you for being who you are, and for reading my little cathartic message here. Thank you for being such good people, for teaching me so many things, and for making me wake up and want to come to work for so many years. You deserve a healthy and robust space program, and I hope you get it.

I'm sure I've left off people that I should have sent this to, and I apologize for that. If you have this forwarded to you rather then getting it directly, please forgive my mistake in literally losing track of all the great people I know here.

I am looking forward to leaving the stress behind, doing some very interesting and varied engineering work (probably a little more analysis then I've done in the past), and being able to help our country in a very immediate and meaningful way.

Godspeed, Jeff

KSC Reopening Delayed

Fay Delays NASA Kennedy Space Center Partial Reopening

"Managers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., are delaying reopening the center for mission essential personnel Thursday morning because of slow-moving Tropical Storm Fay. Personnel should not report for work at 10 a.m. EDT as previously directed, but instead should check the center's status through the hurricane phone lines and emergency operations center Web site at noon. Plans still call for the center to open to all employees and return to full operation Friday."

Tropical Storm Fay forces more evacuations, could bring 30 inches of rain, AP

"About 10,200 homes and businesses in Brevard County were without power early Thursday, and about 134 people spent the night in shelters, she said. The county is home to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, which has been closed to most workers and all visitors since Tuesday. The center reported no significant damage."

John Bull

John S. Bull, former NASA astronaut, dies, CollectSpace

"John Bull, a former NASA astronaut who due to illness was forced to resign while supporting what would become the first crewed mission to the Moon, died August 11 at age 73."

Management Changes at ARC

NASA ARC Internal Memo: Message from the Center Director - Center Management Update

"Effective immediately, Marvin "Chris" Christensen is now the Special Assistant to the Center Director, working as an adviser on a number of centerwide issues. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank Chris for his leadership and service to the agency. Lewis Braxton III is the acting Deputy Center Director."

New NASA Contractor ID Regs

NASA proposed Rule: Personal Identity Verification of Contractors

"NASA proposes to revise the NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) to update procedures for compliance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 4.13, Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel. FAR 4.13 requires that agencies include their implementing guidance of FIPS 201 and OMB guidance M-05-24 in solicitations and contracts that require the contractor to have routine physical access to Federally-controlled facilities and/or access to Federally- controlled information systems. NASA further proposes to designate The Assistant Administrator, Office of Security and Program Protection as the official with overall responsibility for verifying contractor employee personal identity."

NASA Names New PA&E Director

NASA Names New Associate Administrator for Program Analysis and Evaluation

"NASA Administrator Michael Griffin announced the appointment of W. Michael Hawes as the associate administrator for Program Analysis and Evaluation (PA&E). Hawes will succeed Scott Pace, who will leave the agency later this month to become director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University."

Idiots and Politicos Are Not Welcome on the 9th Floor

Michael Griffin at Oshkosh, The Space Review

"[Griffin] did point out that, contrary to press reports, the Bush administration has not interfered with political appointments on staffing. He said that he wanted control of who was on his staff because he doesn't want to work with "idiots" (and he did use the word "idiots").

Editor's note: Ah, so Mike Griffin actually asked the White House if he could hire former deputy FEMA Director Patrick Rhode (who has left NASA), Karl Rove's political operative Jane Cherry (now NASA's White House Liaison), and of course, George Deutsch to come to work at NASA HQ? I am not suggesting that any of these folks are idiots (since Mike has decided that they are not) but they were all overt political appointees foisted upon NASA - however Mike Griffin wants to try and spin things.

Shuttle Job Cuts Begin

Lockheed Martin informs external tank workers of possible job cuts, Huntsville Times

"Lockheed Martin Corp. today informed its external fuel tank workforce in Huntsville and New Orleans that jobs on the space shuttle support program would be cut starting in the fall, according to a company spokesman. About 100 Lockheed Martin people work on the program in Huntsville, said Marion LaNasa, spokesman for Lockheed at the Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans where the aerospace giant manufactures the 15-story fuel tank for NASA."

Statement by John Chapman, External Tank Project Manager, About Work Force Reductions at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility

"While the reductions associated with the shuttle's retirement will result in fewer people doing NASA work at Michoud, the agency plans to locate significant work there in the future. Boeing employees will manufacture and assemble the Ares I upper stage, and conduct avionics systems integration and checkout. Lockheed Martin will build structures for the Orion crew exploration capsule as well as the capsule's Launch Abort System. In future years, the Ares V core stage and Earth departure stage, which will be needed for the return to the moon, will be built at Michoud."

Insight Into The Fatal Police Pursuit at Redstone

Deadly decision How the arsenal crash unfolded, Huntsville Times

"Newly released recordings from a May police chase that ended in a fatal crash on Redstone Arsenal show Huntsville police pursued the fleeing car for more than 8 minutes and 11 miles, prompting some experts to ask whether the chase should have been aborted sooner. The police recordings, requested by The Times, chronicle the chase of 35-year-old Valorie Keil Cox, who fled police after an alleged drug deal."

George Martin

B-52 crash killed all 6 crewmen, Air Force says, USA Today

"The six crew members were identified as .... Col. George Martin, flight surgeon, who was also the deputy commander of 36th Medical Group at Andersen."

Photo, "Ursula Martin, wife of Col. George Martin, thanks the myriad of agencies Friday in for their search for the Airmen who lost their lives in Monday's B-52 crash."

Editor's note: I knew George from my first stay on Devon island in 2002 when he served as our camp doctor for several weeks. I got to know him well during his stint there - especially given the fact that I was a research volunteer and he was constantly jabbing my arm to draw blood.

George was a really, really nice guy. Just pleasant to be around. George really wanted to be an astronaut and was working every angle he could to get proficient in a wide variety of skills - and experiences. As I understand the situation he jumped on the plane at the last minute for the fun of it. That was George all right.

He Made us Laugh - Remembering Col. George Martin, Haughton-Mars Project

"George, 51, was the deputy commander of 36th Medical Group at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam. His love for space extended to his family as he named his daughter Gemini, and his dogs were named Apollo and Mercury. For those of us who had the privilege of working with George when he was at the HMP and came to know him, if only briefly, we will miss him."

MSFC All Hands On Friday

NASA MSFC Memo: Marshall Center Director David King to hold all-hands meeting at 9 a.m. Friday, July 25

"Marshall Center Director David King will hold an all-hands meeting with Marshall team members at 9 a.m. Friday, July 25, in Building 4316, the Activities Building. The subject of the meeting is the May 30 events on Redstone Arsenal that resulted in the death of a Marshall employee. King will begin with opening comments and the introduction of guests Maj. Gen. Jim Myles, Commanding General, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal; Col. John Olshefski, Redstone Arsenal Garrison Commander; and Keith Ryan, Intelligence and Security director for Redstone Arsenal."

A life well worth living

Speaking Up About a Silent Killer, Washington Post

"Three times a week, in a plain red-brick building near the Pentagon City mall in Arlington, a machine keeps me alive. ... Between the time spent on dialysis and other hours devoted to related testing, I reckon I've lost about a third of my life. My focus, though, is on the 65 percent that's left."

Editor's note: The author of this article, Frank Sietzen, co-authored the book "New Moon Rising" with me back in 2004 and is the author of the forthcoming book "The Astronaut and the Fireman".

GSFC Has a New Center Director

NASA Names Strain New Goddard Space Flight Center Director

"NASA Administrator Michael Griffin on Thursday announced that Rob Strain will be the next center director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Strain is currently the head of the Space Department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, Md. He will assume his duties as center director on Aug. 4."

HSPD-12 Fight Continues

NASA employees continue HSPD-12 fight, FCW.com

"Employees at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory got an ultimatum last year: Submit to new, more thorough background investigations or leave the agency. Twenty-eight JPL scientists, engineers and administrative support employees instead took their employers to court. The plaintiffs and some observers say the ensuing legal battle has raised questions about the federal government’s background investigation methods and the constitutionality of the trigger event: Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12. The process also exposed the agency’s laundry list of workforce problems, union officials say."

IV&V Layoff's Ahead?

Editor's note: Contractor layoffs across Goddard and at IV&V are apparently in the works. Bryan O'Connor is headed out to IV&V tomorrow for an all hands meeting.

While at IV&V O'Connor will be leading a Board of Directors (IBD) meeting. Word has it that an internal memo from NASA HQ describes actions to be taken with regard to IV&V. This memo includes the output of a recent PA&E investigation.

IV&V is located in the home district of Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-WV. Mollohan is Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies of the House Appropriations Committee.

Stay tuned.

Robert Hopkins Chief of Strategic Communications Leaving NASA

NASA Chief of Strategic Communications Robert Hopkins Joins Phillips & Company as Senior Vice President, Managing Director of D.C. Public Relations, Business Development Office

Strategic Communications Hopkins Leaving NASA, NASA

NASA Chief of Strategic Communications Robert Hopkins announced Monday that he will be leaving the agency for a position in the private sector. Hopkins served as a senior adviser to Deputy Administrator Shana Dale and as assistant administrator for the recently established Office of Communications Planning before assuming the strategic communications role.

Veteran Astronaut James Reilly Leaves NASA

Astronaut James Reilly Leaves NASA, NASA

Veteran space shuttle astronaut James Reilly has left NASA to accept a position in the private sector. Reilly flew on three space shuttle missions to two space stations.

"Jim Reilly performed superbly as an astronaut over the course of his career at NASA," Astronaut Office chief Steve Lindsey said. "His technical, operational and people skills contributed directly to the success of the space shuttle and International Space Station programs. He was a key leader in the Astronaut Office and will be missed."

John Lindsay

Reader note: It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the passing of John F. Lindsay at the age of 67. John, who was a visiting scientist on the staff of the Lunar and Planetary Institute, died early this morning after a valiant battle against cancer.

John's education was in soft-rock geology with a solid background in chemistry, physics, mathematics, and statistics, earning his B.Sc. (with Honors) and M.Sc. degrees from the University of New England in New South Wales, Australia, and his Ph.D. in geology from Ohio State University in 1968. One of the original scientists at the Institute in the early 1970s, John's professional background also included positions as Research Scientist at the Marine Science Institute of the University of Texas; Program Manager at Exxon Production Research; Adjunct Professor at Oxford University, and NRC Senior Research Associate at the Astrobiology Institute at NASA Johnson Space Center, where John worked closely with David McKay and his group.

To his son, Matthew, and other family members and friends, we extend our deepest sympathy. We'll miss you, John!

Janet Christine Dietrich

Bay Area pilot Janet Christine Dietrich dies, SF Chronicle

"At the dawn of the space race in the early 1960s, Bay Area pilot Janet Christine Dietrich was one of 13 women who underwent secret astronaut testing, passing the same rigorous physical and psychological assessments as the men who became immortalized as America's first astronauts."

Leland Belew

Reader note: Leland Belew died Friday afternoon after a long illness. He was 83. Mr. Belew joined the the Von Braun team in 1951 and 1958 he was appointed Manager of Engine Programs for MSFC where he was responsible for engine development for a variety of vehicles including the Saturn V. Mr. Belew was later Apollo Applications (Apollo-Soyuz) Manager and Manager of the Skylab program at MSFC. Mr. Belew was Deputy Director of Science and Engineering at MSFC when he retired from NASA.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Tuesday June 10, 2008, at Laughlin Service Funeral Home in Huntsville, Alabama. Visitation will also be from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, June 11, 2008, at the First Chrisitan Church of Huntsville. Funeral Services will follow at 2:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Skylab Restoration Project through the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

New Job for Tony Lavoie

Tony Lavoie reassigned to the Senior Executive Service position of Space Systems Department deputy manager

"Pending final approval by NASA Headquarters, I am pleased to announce the reassignment of Mr. Tony Lavoie to the Senior Executive Service position of Deputy Manager, Space Systems Department, Engineering Directorate, Marshall Space Flight Center."

NASA Gen Y Update - and Debate

Generation Y Characterizations Presentation (June 2008, 196k), opennasa.com

Editor's note: This presentation was made at ISDC. There is nothing really new in here when you consider the previous presentations this group of younger, so-called "Gen Y" NASA employees has been making.

The tone of this briefing is often annoying. Its almost as if this generation (assuming that this presentation is the definitive description thereof) thinks they are the first ones to be different than their parents, and that they see the world in a different way than their parents, and that they need to be treated differently.

Indeed, I can see many of the traits the authors of these presentations ascribe to themselves in my generation. By the way, many members of Gen Y object to "Gen Y" label yet they routinely call my generation "baby boomers" (in this presentation) or just "boomers", a phrase I and others are not particularly fond of.

This generation also apparently seems to think that people should alter the way they do things so as to accommodate them. Rarely do you see any suggestion that they need to adapt to the rest of the world.

Lastly, these presentations are either written by - or heavily influenced by Gen Y authors to the point of being biased and one-sided. I see no real description of Gen Y as seen by the rest of the societal groups with whom this group lives and interacts. Without that, you can't have an open discussion about the things this group is concerned with.

The "take home message" (gotta slip a NASAese phrase in) is this: your elders are more like you than you think. Recall the old phrase "As you are, I once was. As I am you will soon be".

You need to get beyond the differences and look for the similarities. Otherwise you've just engaged in yet another NASA Powerpoint exercise.

Update on Last Week's Accident

NASA MSFC Internal Memo Regarding Darren Spurlock and Kathleen Lundy

"I am sure that today is a day of unrest around the center, and rightly so. Even after a successful space shuttle launch on Saturday, the tragic automobile accident on Friday that resulted in the death of our co-worker and friend, Darren Spurlock and injury of Kathleen Lundy, has us all feeling down, and asking questions about how and why."

Memorial information

EPCS Awards Agreement at ARC

Ames Federal Employees Union Memo: EPCS awards

"The Ames Federal Employees Union is pleased to inform you of the agreement we have entered into with Ames Research Center concerning awards based on EPCS ratings (but please note the concern stated below). For your reference, our Record of Negotiation, and the NASA wide rule under which they were negotiated, are provided below (see attached signed copy)."

Police Chase, One Death, at MSFC

1 killed, 5 hurt in pursuit, Huntsville Times

"A Marshall Space Flight Center employee was killed Friday when a woman being pursued by Huntsville police crashed into the man's truck on Redstone Arsenal. The woman's vehicle T-boned 50-year-old Darren Spurlock's truck at Martin and Rideout roads. He died at the scene, police said."

Memorial services

Curious Staff Change at MSFC

Daniel Schumacher named director of key NASA Marshall Center office

"Prior to accepting his new position, Schumacher was deputy project manager of Marshall's Lunar Lander Project Office from 2007 to 2008. He led a team of more than 60 civil service and contractor employees and directed an annual technology budget of more than $60 million to develop hardware and integrated systems for crewed moon landings in coming decades."

Editor's note: Please tell me why a guy who runs an overtly engineering/mission oriented activity is suddenly put in charge of a policy office like this? Where is the press release about the person who is replacing him in his previous position?

JSC Gets Its Own Bush Politico - Update

Editor's 14 May note: Ellen now has an email account at Code AD and is listed in the X.500 directory. Soon all of that Lame Duck goodness will start working its magic at JSC!

Editor's 11 May note: Great news: consumate Bush loyalist and overt politico Ellen Engleman Conners has accepted the position of Director of External Relations at JSC replacing Eileen Hawley.

Ellen Engelman Conners has been at JSC for the past week getting to know her way around and starts full time just after Memorial Day.

Eileen Hawley's last day was last Friday. She will be missed.

Just What JSC PAO Needs - An Overt Bush Politico, previous post

Safety Chief in Holding Pattern - Relations With Colleagues Called Frosty and Petty

"Engleman Conners has not been popular among her peers at the board. Last year, she got into a high-profile spat with three of the four other board members that led to members' not speaking to one another and Engleman Conners working much of the time from the NTSB Academy in Ashburn, Va., rather than at headquarters in Washington."

New Strife at the NTSB under Engleman-Connors Leadership

"NTSB members are strongly dissatisfied with the way in which Board chairman Ellen Engleman Conners is attempting to curb their activities. Three Board members-Carol Carmody, Richard Healing and Deborah Hersman-sent a letter to the chairman late this summer expressing their concerns."

Transportation safety board's Engleman Conners withdraws nomination for second chairmanship term, Progressive Railroading

"National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Ellen Engleman Conners recently sent a letter to President Bush to withdraw her nomination for a second term as board chairman. The president nominated her in April."

Exiting From the Game Doesn't Dispel Clouds, WS Journal

"MOVING OVER: National Transportation Safety Board insiders twitter over the FCC's hiring of former chairwoman Ellen Engleman Conners for the managing director's office. Internal strife marred Conners's three-year NTSB term, where complaints, including from fellow Republicans, ranged from how she resolved a backlog of safety issues to how she divvied up office supplies."

Ron Parise

Ronald A. Parise; Astronomer Studied From Space Shuttles, Washington Post

Astronaut-astronomer Ron Parise, 56, dies, Collectspace.com

"An astronomer-turned-astronaut, who flew as a payload specialist onboard NASA's two shuttle missions dedicated to astronomy, Ron Parise, 56, died Friday of a brain tumor after fighting the cancer for three years.

Parise's path to space came as a result of his work at the Computer Science Corporation (CSC), where he helped develop the flight software, electronic system design and mission plan for the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope, one of the instruments for NASA's ASTRO payload. In 1984, he was selected by NASA as a payload specialist to fly with the UIT on the STS-61E mission, scheduled for launch in March 1986."

Scott Pace Headed for GWU

Editor's note: NASA Associate Administrator for Program Analysis and Evaluation Scott Pace will be heading to the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University as its new director. The Institute is currently run by John Logsdon. Pace should be in place after Labor Day for the Fall semester.

At PA&E Pace was responsible for providing objective studies and analyses in support of policy, program, and budget decisions by the NASA Administrator. Prior to working at NASA, Pace was the Assistant Director for Space and Aeronautics in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

Barbara Gregory

BARBARA ANN GREGORY On May 4, 2008 of Annapolis, MD. Beloved wife of Fred Gregory. Also survived by one son, one daughter, four grandchildren, one brother and a host of other relatives and friends.

Visiting hours will be on Thursday, May 8 from 12 noon to 2 p.m. at TAYLOR FUNERAL HOME, 147 Duke of Gloucester St., Annnapolis, where a funeral service will follow at 2:15 p.m.

Interment will be in Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at 3 p.m. If attending the burial, please meet at the administration building at 2:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Anne Arundel Medical Foundation, 2001 Medical Parkway, Annapolis, MD 21401. Online condolences may be made at www.johnmtaylorfuneralhome.com

Ed Weiler Will Keep His New Job

NASA Internal Memo: Weiler Assumes Official Role As NASA Science Chief

"Administrator Michael Griffin announced Wednesday that Ed Weiler will remain as NASA's associate administrator for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. Weiler was named interim chief of the directorate March 26."

Things Are Getting Weird at MSFC: Absentee Management at the Top

Disturbing E-Mail Goes Out to NASA Employees, WHNT

Editor's note: When employees take dramatic actions such as this - i.e. to circumvent traditional management chains to raise both personal - and important workforce issues - it is symptomatic of managerial insensitivity and incompetence at the top. Dave King should be taking this very seriously - as a personal failure in his own management of MSFC - not something an employee did that requires a reprimand.

Reader note: This is an email that was sent by a Marshall employee yesterday. It was sent as a mass email (Marshall-wide global). Management response: "A MSFC employee sent a mass e-mail to the Marshall workforce today. We are taking appropriate action to provide assistance and to maintain a safe work environment for all of our employees. Due to Privacy Act considerations, we cannot comment further. Dave King, Director".
 
Email message below:

From: [DELETED] (MSFC-ET10)
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 9:40 AM
To:
Subject: CHANGING OUR THINKING

[DELETED]

HSPD-12 Update - A Step Backward

Media Advisory HSPD-12 JPL: Court Withdraws Finding of Friday April 25
 
"Robert M. Nelson, a Senior Research Scientist at JPL and the lead plaintiff in the JPL case said, "Our attorneys remind us that the judicial system involves a very deliberate process. We will remain patient and let the judicial activity run its course. While we are waiting, NASA and Caltech are forbidden, under the existing temporary injunction, from conducting the intrusive personal background investigations ordered under HSPD#12.""

NASA JPL HSPD-12 Media Advisory: Court Denies Government Petition for Injunction Review, earlier update

HSPD-12 Update

NASA JPL HSPD-12 Media Advisory: Court Denies Government Petition for Injunction Review

"On Friday April 25, 2008 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to review its earlier decision issuing a temporary injunction preventing NASA and the California Institute of Technology from conducting intrusive personal background investigations of employees at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. The government had petitioned all of the judges of the Ninth Circuit Court for a review of a January 11, 2008 ruling by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit that issued a temporary injunction stopping the investigations until a full trial is held in federal district court."

GRC Cancer Issue Still Lingers

Alleged NASA Cancer Problem May Have Existed For Years, News 5

"New questions are surfacing about cancer cases at NASA Glenn Research Center and how long the problem may have existed. NewsChannel5's Autumn Ziemba spoke with NASA retirees and spouses of employees who died of cancer decades ago after working in the development engineering building. It's the same building where at least 40 people have been diagnosed with cancer, but now these people are wondering if there was a problem, how long did it exist?"

NASA site defends safety record in response to cancer concern, AP

"Patient confidentiality prevented the agency from demanding personal health information on cancer rates, said Thomas Hartline, director of safety at NASA Glenn. ''Therefore, we have not been able to verify the numbers that the union put out,'' he said."

Is Ellen Engelman Conners Coming to JSC?

Editor's note: It has been a month since NASA Watch first reported that Ellen Engelman Conners had been selected as the new Director of External Relations at JSC. At the time sources were not exactly certain when the formal offer was going to be made and/or if she had indeed accepted it.

Well, it has been a month and Ellen Engelman Conners does not show up in the NASA X.500 directory ...

Just What JSC PAO Needs - An Overt Bush Politico, earlier post

Saleeba Replaced as Head of NASA Security

Editor's note: Looks like David Saleeba is no longer Assistant Administrator for the NASA Office of Security Program and Protection. This page says "Jack Forsythe (Acting)". NASA is looking to hire someone for Saleeba's position at USAJobs:

NASA Headquarters: Assistant Administrator for Security and Program Protection

GRC Decides To Respond to Employee Concerns

NASA Glenn to Hold Briefing Related to Health Concerns

"On Fri., April 11 NASA's Glenn Research Center will host a media briefing to discuss the health concern allegations recently reported in the media. The briefing will begin at 4 p.m. in the Development Engineering Building. The building is located on the north side of Brookpark Road."

When Work Makes You Sick at NASA

NASA Glenn union wants answers on workers' cancer rate, Cleveland Plain Dealer

"A union at NASA Glenn Research Center is worried about the number of workers who have been diagnosed with cancer, despite studies saying the rates are within normal range. Leaders of the Lewis Engineers and Scientists Association are asking several members of Congress to investigate the incidence of cancer. The disease has been diagnosed during the past three or four years in about 40 of the 100 workers on the Developmental Engineering Building's third floor, said Dennis Pehotsky, a spokesman for the association."

Leaving Michoud Folks in the Dark

NASA transition will cut 1,100 Michoud jobs, New Orleans City Business

Will the Ares and Orion projects replace all the jobs lost to the space shuttle phaseout? "We won't know the exact specifics to that until we get the actual contracts in place," Chapman said.

Michoud facing new, post-shuttle frontiers

Though other space manufacturing sites around the country have become accustomed to the inevitable shifts in work, this is the first time in more than three decades that there has been a change in civil space policy that affects the Michoud work force, said Sheila Cloud, the NASA administrator in charge of the transition at Michoud.

"I think they are extremely nervous," she said of the Michoud employees. "This work force is different from many, if not most, (NASA) work forces. They are totally unfamiliar with the process, and that heightens their concerns. We talked to them about what to expect, to best of our abilities."

Editor's note: Gee, Sheila, then instead of leaving them in the dark, how about clueing these people in, once and for all?

David Low Obituary

G. David Low, 52: Cerebral Astronaut Flew on 3 Shuttles, Washington Post

"G. David Low, 52, a NASA astronaut who served on three space shuttle missions before becoming a space industry executive, died March 15 of colon cancer at Reston Hospital Center. During his 12 years as an astronaut, he logged more than 714 hours in space while circling the Earth more than 540 times."

David Low Has Died

Editor's note: Astronaut David Low died on Saturday from colon cancer. A funeral mass will be held after Easter at Our Lady of Hope in Sterling, VA. Details to follow.

Editor's update: The Funeral Mass has been scheduled for 10:30 am, Monday, March 24, 2008, at Our Lady of Hope Roman Catholic Church, 46639 Algonkian Pkwy, Sterling, VA.

Sean O'Keefe Is Heading Back To Washington

Sean O'Keefe To Head GE Aviation's Washington D.C. Operations

"Effective June 2, Sean O'Keefe, 52, will head GE Aviation's Washington D.C. operations, replacing Dr. Thomas Cooper, who is retiring after serving in the role with distinction for 21 years."

I'll Bet You Did Not Know This

36% of scientists at NASA are Indians: Govt survey, The Times of India

"The extent to which desis have made an impact in the US was reeled off in the Rajya Sabha -- as many as 12% scientists and 38% doctors in the US are Indians, and in NASA, 36% or almost 4 out of 10 scientists are Indians."

Donald Lopez Has Died

National Air and Space Museum’s Deputy Director and Aviation Legend Donald Lopez Dies

"Donald S. Lopez, 84, deputy director of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, died of a heart attack on March 3. Mr. Lopez had been with the Smithsonian Institution since 1972, when he became part of the team led by Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins responsible for planning the construction and opening of the National Air and Space Museum."

Job Cuts Ahead

NASA Work Force Projections Previewed, Aerospace Daily

"Subcommittee Chairman Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) pressed Griffin on the issue of sustaining NASA's human spaceflight work force during the downtime between the shuttle's retirement and the introduction of the Orion and Ares I vehicles, projected for early 2015. "We don't want to go through what we went through after the shutdown of Apollo," Nelson said."

Senators clash with NASA chief on speed of space transition, Congress Daily

"Griffin also said the shutdown of the shuttle program is likely to lead to the loss of thousands of NASA jobs at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans."

HSPD-12 Update

NASA AFEU Memo on HSPD-12 Badging

"NASA is proceeding to implement Homeland Security Personnel Directive (HSPD-12) at all Centers, including Ames. Center management has determined that more than 20% of the employees at Ames are moderate or high sensitivity risk. AFEU contends that Ames management has over-classified a large number of employees, particularly given that GSFC and JPL have reported around 5% at moderate and high risk."

Robert Jastrow

Robert Jastrow, Who Made Space Understandable, Dies at 82, NY Times

"In an age when scientists tended to keep to their laboratories and lecture halls, Dr. Jastrow was a very public figure, a prolific author and commentator on a wide range of topics including the space program, astronomy, earth science and national security issues."

Remembering Gordon McKay

Planetary Exploration Newsletter Volume 2, Number 10 (February 10, 2008)

DR. GORDON MCKAY (1945-2008)

Dear Colleagues, It is with deep sadness that we write on behalf of the Science Mission Directorate to mourn the untimely passing and celebrate the life and career of Dr. Gordon McKay. Beginning his career as a Ph.D. student on the first lunar samples returned to Earth by the Apollo astronauts and ending it in a role of exceptional leadership at a NASA review panel, Gordon devoted his life to public service and the advancement of scientific knowledge. Gordon was someone who epitomized being a civil servant.

Gordon McKay

Editor's note: Gordon McKay died today in Maryland. He was in town for a NASA HQ proposal review. Details to follow.

HSPD-12 Update

JPL back to court in background check case, Valley Sun

"On Feb. 15 Jet Propulsion Laboratory employees will be back in district court concerning their lawsuit against NASA. Twenty-eight scientists and engineers at JPL filed the suit challenging NASA's requirement of background investigations that they contend are unconstitutional. The background checks were required in 2007 by NASA in accordance to a 2004 Bush administration directive. Background checks are required by all governmental offices due to this directive but each office can choose their own procedure, said Virginia Keeny, attorney for the JPL employees."

NASA ARC Internal Memo: New HSPD-12 Badges Are Starting to Arrive

"Ames has started receiving and issuing the new NASA HSPD-12 compliant badges for civil servants who have completed enrollment, and non-civil servants who have completed the required background investigation and the enrollment steps. These badges are being delivered to Ames in batches."

Job Cuts at NASA HQ

NASA Internal Memo: Reduction of Headquarters Ceilings

"NASA Headquarters (HQ) was notified in November 2007 of significant Full Time Equivalent (FTE) reductions for Fiscal Years (FY) 2008 through 2013. The FTE provided to HQ is the basis for establishing and managing HQ personnel ceilings. Headquarters Policy Directive 3330.1, Human Capital: Workforce Planning and Ceiling Control Management, dated November 26, 2006, sets forth the policy for assigning and managing total organizational ceilings (TOC) for each organization and HQ as an institution. Last fiscal year HQ ceilings were adjusted and a continuous effort is underway for planned reductions through FY 2013. However, the latest FTE reductions will require HQ to achieve these adjustments sooner than originally anticipated."

HSPD-12 Update

Was the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit too liberal in stopping NASA background checks? You decide, ComputerWorld

JPL scientists resist NASA's bargain-basement inquisition, LA Times via SJ Mercury News

"For the last four years, two robot rovers operated from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have been moving across the surface of Mars, taking photographs and collecting information. It's an epic event in the history of exploration, one of many for which JPL's 7,000 civilian scientists and engineers are responsible - when they're not fending off the U.S. government's attempts to conduct an intimidating and probably illegal inquisition into the intimate details of their lives."

Werner Dahm Has Died

Huntsville has lost another one of the original team of German rocket scientists, Huntsville Times

"Werner K. Dahm, an internationally recognized rocket pioneer whose work in Germany and the United States made important contributions to the nation's ballistic missile programs and its manned and unmanned rocket programs, died late Thursday afternoon in Huntsville at an assisted living center. He was 90 years old."

LSU Is Looking For A New Chancellor

Chancellor Sean O'Keefe Announces Resignation, LSU

"The university system leadership clearly has the authority and deserves the prerogative to empower those who can take the university to the next level and I wish them every success in that quest. It is evident to me that LSU needs a campus leader who enjoys the full confidence of the board and the president. I have no doubt they will be successful in that endeavor."

Editor's note: No folks, contrary to idle speculation, he most certainly was not fired.

HSPD-12 Update

Inquisition at JPL, opinion, LA Times

"NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, however, is one of the Bush administration's true believers, and his first reflex always is a crisp salute. He directed Caltech, which has a contract to run JPL for NASA, to make sure all of the lab's employees complied. The university initially resisted, then caved when NASA threatened to withdraw its contract. Worse, the government demanded that the scientists, in order to get the badges, fill out questionnaires on their personal lives and waive the privacy of their financial, medical and psychiatric records. The government also wanted permission to gather information about them by interviewing third parties."

HSPD-12 Update: Court Rules in Favor of JPL Employees

Federal court of appeals rules in favor of JPL employees in suit against Caltech and NASA over intrusive background investigations, HSPD-12.org

"Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in favor of the JPL employees who sued Caltech and NASA over intrusive background investigations. A lower court had dismissed the employee's claims and the employees won a temporary injunction from the ninth circuit court of appeals. Yesterday' the same lower court dismissed Caltech as a defendant in the case. Today's action by the court of appeals overules the lower court."

S.F. appeals court bars government's probes of NASA scientists, SF Chronicle

"After a hearing later Friday at which a federal judge in Los Angeles formally issued the injunction, Stormer said NASA had announced it would refrain from conducting the investigations of similar employees at any of its installations nationwide. NASA representatives were unavailable for comment."

Court Allows Scientists to Work at NASA Until Trial Over Background Checks, NY Times

"Michael Cabbage, a spokesman for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, said, "NASA will, of course, comply with any rulings from the court of appeals."

HSPD-12 Update

District Court Hearing on Injunction Restricting Background Investigations of JPL Employees

"Background: The case evolves from a hearing last year in which employees of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory sought injunctive relief against their employer Caltech and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in order to prevent intrusive personal background investigations. Caltech and NASA argued that these intrusions were required under Homeland Security Presidential Directive #12, an executive order signed by President George W. Bush. The JPL employees do no classified work."

LaRC Employees To Become Movie Stars

"The Box" Casting Call For NASA LaRC Employees

"Casting representatives are now accepting submissions from NASA Langley employees to appear as background actors for Richard Kelly's upcoming feature film, "The Box" starring Cameron Diaz and James Marsden."

ESMD's Revolving Door - Update

Editor's note: Last month I submitted a series of questions to NASA ESMD PAO (see ESMD'S Revolving Door). After a delay of several weeks, I finally got a response which was some what lacking in detail. I was directed to approach NASA LaRC PAO since "NESC is an independent NASA entity and ESMD does not keep track of the duties of NESC employees."

I heard back from LaRC PAO today only a few days after asking my initial question.

According to NASA LaRC PAO, from a human resources perspective Scott Horowitz is an "appointed consultant". This classification is used "for positions that require only temporary or intermittent employment." As such Horowitz is exempted from certain regular government requirements such as the need to compete the position.

Horowitz is also designated as a "Special Government Employee" - a position wherein the employee performs temporary duties "for no more than 130 days during any period of 365 consecutive days." As a Special Government Employee some but not all provision of the Ethics in Government Act reply. Additional restrictions are applicable if he works for more than 60 days.

Horowitz's pay check comes from the federal government and his employment is through the NESC.

Horowitz is participating as part of a mentor team for the MLAS (Launch Abort System). This team is composed of former Space Shuttle and Apollo engineers and astronauts. Their task is to produce an independent critique of the MLAS design.

The MLAS design was originally created by Mike Griffin and Scott Horowitz. In response to a direct question as to whether Scott Horowitz had been hired to work on a project that he created while he was Associate Administrator of ESMD, the answer was "yes".

Horowitz may work on other tasks at some point in the future including a readiness review in March.

A J Roy has died

"A.J." Roy Jr., longtime NASA employee, dies at 78, Houston Chronicle

"Arda Joseph "A.J." Roy Jr., who left North Dakota for the skies above Texas, devoting most of his career to NASA, died on Friday. He was 78. Born in Minot, N.D., Roy joined the U.S. Air Force shortly after graduating from St. John High School in St. John, N.D. He earned his pilot's wings in 1953 and left the Air Force three years later."

Dr. Robert E. Shurney

reader note: "Dr. Robert E. Shurney recently passed away in Huntsville, Alabama. Dr. Shurney, a retired Marshall Space Flight Center engineer, accomplished several major and significant tasks for NASA."

Dr. Shurney was the lead engineer for the tires used on the Lunar Rover Vehicle. When ordered to make them as light as possible, his innovative approach was to create an aluminum tire that had metal plates on the inside and a wire mesh on the outside. The design proved to be a complete success. Dr. Shurney also designed the Skylab waste control system which was the first successful equipment to make "going to the bathroom" somewhat normal in space.
He not only designed this space commode, he also tested it aboard the zero-G KC-135 to ensure it would work. His design was ultimately the basis for the WCS used aboard the Space Shuttle. Dr. Shurney was recently honored by an exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute as one of the USA's foremost African-American space scientists. More information: http://stefscrib.blogspot.com/

HSPD-12 Update

Editor's note: I will be on Federal News Radio Tuesday morning between 7:00 - 7:15 am EST (just after the news) to talk about HSPD-12.

HSPD-12 Update

NASA will check backgrounds despite criticism, Government Executive

"Keith Cowing, editor of NASAWatch.com and a former NASA scientist, agreed. "This may come back to bite NASA in the very near future when it realizes that it needs some of the very people it is now imposing strict background requirements upon." Implementing the policy government-wide could actually be detrimental to homeland security because of the resulting "mix of unfilled positions at federal agencies -- positions that are vital to our nation's economy and security," he said."

Remembering a Runner

Dedication of the Willie McCool Memorial Marker at the United States Naval Academy, David Schuman, SpaceRef

"Amidst the regular burden of work, some may appreciate this short description of an emotional ceremony I attended this past Sunday at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was not widely reported in the media but held a very special significance for NASA employees, in particular for those who happen to be runners. I'm a runner and, while there have been many times when I've been tempted to break down on a racecourse, this was a special time."

HSPD-12 Update

Judges hear arguments on JPL checks, Pasadena Star News

"JPL employees returned to court Wednesday as a panel of three federal judges heard arguments about extending a temporary injunction against NASA's new employee background checks. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges posed sharp questions to the government lawyer about the necessity of the background checks, which include questions about drug use and drug treatment, as well as an open-ended waiver releasing personal information."

Honoring Gene Kranz

NASA Honors Legendary Flight Director Gene Kranz

"NASA will honor Eugene Francis "Gene" Kranz with the presentation of an Ambassador of Exploration Award for his involvement in the U.S. space program. Kranz will receive the award during a ceremony at 2 p.m. CST on Dec. 6 at the Central Catholic High School."

HSPD-12 Update

Appeals Court Hearing on Injunction Restricting Background Investigations of JPL Employees

"Attorneys and Plaintiffs will be available for media interviews following the hearing A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments Dec. 5, 2007, on an injunction pending appeal in the case of 28 Caltech employees at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory who filed suit to prevent unreasonable personal background checks. The JPL employees -- all of whom work on non-classified space exploration projects -- sued NASA, the Department of Commerce, and their employer, Caltech, to prevent intrusive, open-ended background investigations imposed by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin in support of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12. The background investigations were associated with issuing new identification cards to employees in order for them to access the JPL facility. HSPD12 mandates new identification documents but does not mention background investigations. None of the plaintiffs have security clearances."

Management Changes at GSFC

NASA GSFC Internal Memo From Ed Weiler: Management Announcements

"A couple of weeks ago, I sent out a Center-wide message announcing that with the pending retirement of Dolly Perkins at the end of the year, Laurie Leshin will be taking on a new role at Goddard as the Deputy Center Director for Science and Technology. Today, I'd like to announce the appointment of Dr. Bernard Seery to a new post in Code 100 as the Assistant Director for Advanced Concepts. I am also pleased to announce that Dr. Peter Hildebrand, Chief, Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, will succeed Bernie as the new Deputy Director for the Sciences and Exploration Directorate."

HSPD-12 Enforcement at GRC

NASA GRC Internal Memo: HSPD-12 Enforcement

"If you are receiving this email, you have been identified as a supervisor of an employee who has failed to comply with a Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 requirement and deadline regarding a background re-investigation. This re-investigation is necessary before a new HSPD 12 compliant NASA badge can be issued. Without the new NASA badge, the employee will be unable to gain access to NASA facilities and Information Systems."

GSFC Buyout Update

NASA Internal Memo: Goddard's Buyout/Early Out Incentive Plan

"As you are aware, NASA is in the process of a major transformation designed to realign the Agency and implement the Vision for Space Exploration. To achieve this vision, NASA faces many challenges including re-shaping the NASA workforce to successfully meet changing mission requirements. In order to refocus the skill mix of our workforce to become more effectively aligned with current and anticipated funded work requirements, each Directorate has evaluated its workforce requirements and has identified eligible categories of positions that may be experiencing either a workforce surplus or that may be impacted by a possible reduction in work requirements and/or reduced funding in the immediate or near future."

New JSC HSPD-12 website

Editor's note: A new JSC HSPD-12 website is online here.

HSPD-12 Update

Appeals court stops some NASA HSPD-12 background checks, FCW.COM

"As project scientist for the Mars Exploration Rover Mission, William Banerdt is one of the top scientists at the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he has worked for 24 years. He's also a plaintiff with 27 of his JPL colleagues in a lawsuit against NASA, which has underwritten the lab since 1959 through a contract with Caltech. In their lawsuit, Banerdt and the other JPL scientists say background Investigations required under Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 violate their constitutional right to privacy."

Theron Bradley

Editor's note: Theron Bradley died today from brain cancer.

JPL HSPD-12 Activity Has Ripple Effect Across NASA

NASA JSC Special Notice HSPD-12 Deadline Has Now Been Extended to the New Calendar Year

"The following message is a correction to a JSC Special Notice regarding Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-12 rebadging. The deadline for rebadging all employees has slipped for the entire agency due to issues with the new badge. JSC Security will continue the rebadging process into the next calendar year, and will continue to accept current NASA badges until the rebadging process is complete."

GSFC Contractor Shuts Doors, Stiffs Employees

Workers Without Pay After Government Contractor Goes Bankrupt, Fox 5

"More than two dozen workers are without jobs and paychecks after the government contractors that employed them [Information Network Inc. at NASA GSFC] filed for bankruptcy."

HSPD-12 Update

Injunction in NASA-JPL background checks extended, AP

"A federal appeals court on Thursday extended an injunction sought by more than two dozen workers at NASA's premier robotic exploration lab who claim a Bush administration directive requiring background checks invaded their privacy. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week issued an order that enjoined NASA through Thursday after a lower court sided with the government. The new order means the injunction remain in place during the appeal process. A hearing was scheduled for December."

Text of Court Order (PDF)

HSPD-12 Opponents Get Some Good News (Again)

Ninth Circuit Issues Injunction Against NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Unconstitutional Requirement of Invasive Background Investigations

"Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals entered an emergency injunction against the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Court ruled that NASA could not require Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists and engineers holding non-sensitive positions to sign waivers of their privacy rights. If the Court had not issued this injunction, thousands of scientists would have had to choose between waiving their privacy rights and keeping their jobs."

NASA JPL Internal Email: Subject: HSPD-12 Temporary Injunction

"Shortly after 4:00 pm today, the Ninth Circuit granted JPL employees a temporary injunction until October 12, 2007 or further order of the court. What this means is that any employee who has not submitted a questionnaire for a non-sensitive position, including the authorization forms for release of information, is not required to do so until October 12, 2007 or further Order of the Ninth Circuit."

Court Ruling, PDF

Anti-HSPD-12 Opponents Get Some Bad News

Judge Rejects Background Checks Claim, AP

"A federal judge denied a request Wednesday by more than two dozen workers at one of NASA's research labs to block a Bush administration directive requiring background checks and access to personal information."

JPL Employees to Appeal Negative Ruling by Judge

"Hundreds of JPL employees have taken issue with the background checks. In addition to the 28 plaintiffs, more than 200 employees have signed an on-line statement stating that they completed the questionnaire under duress in order to keep their jobs. Many others are yet to comply with NASA's requirements. As pointed out by Caltech attorney Mark Holscher in court Monday, only 4100 out of 7500 JPL employees and contractors have initiated the required paperwork."

GSFC Lags in NASA Culture Survey Response

NASA GSFC Internal Memo: 2007 NASA Culture Survey Response Rate

"The survey has been open for 3 weeks and according to the current statistics, we are the lowest responding Center at only 9.64%. I encourage you to respond to the NASA Culture Survey and provide open and honest feedback regarding your perceptions with respect to management credibility, upward communication and organizational support."

Herman Lee Patterson, Jr.

Herman Lee Patterson, Jr., (Pat) died peacefully Saturday, September 29th after a lengthy hospital stay in Bristol, TN. Pat grew up in Lynchburg, VA. He served the United States Air Force and was stationed in Seoul, Korea. Pat worked for Wackenhut Services Incorporated 40+ years in many capacities and was their longest serving employee. He spent 20 years at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida where he rose through the ranks from a security officer to the Chief of Security

Anti-HSPD-12 Opponents Get Some Help

Judge to bar NASA background checks on drugs for time being, AP

"A federal judge said he planned to temporarily bar NASA from asking workers at one of its research centers during background checks whether they had ever used drugs. The drug use question was only a small part of a lawsuit filed by 28 scientists, engineers and staff at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena who claimed the new security measures invaded their privacy. They include senior scientists and engineers on high-profile missions including the Galileo probe to Jupiter and the Cassini spacecraft to Saturn. U.S. District Court Judge Otis Wright said Monday he wanted to balance workers' rights with national security."

Media Advisory JPL Employees vs Caltech, NASA and Department of Commerce Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12

Earlier stories

Help Define a diversity awareness baseline

NASA ARC Internal Memo: Diversity Assessment Survey

"Ames Research Center has contracted with Westat to develop a Diversity Assessment Survey for civil service staff as part of the Ames Diversity Implementation Plan effort. You will receive subsequent e-mail transmission from Westat to begin the survey process. The purpose of this survey is to assess the current state of diversity awareness at Ames. The survey results will be used to define a diversity awareness baseline for Ames Research Center and to design future activities for the continuing enhancement of Ames' diversity. This Web-based survey will be administered by Westat in the mid-October time frame; individual submissions by Ames participants will be kept strictly confidential by the external administering party."

Another Employee Survey

2007 NASA Culture Survey

Editor's note: Two comments about the attached survey. There is no question number 34. This appears to be an error in the numbering of the survey questions. The survey is adaptive i.e. an answer to a given question may generate differing successor questions. For example, identifying oneself as a line employee, supervisor, or manager will cause different successor questions to be posed to the interviewee. The images that are attached assume that the employee is a line employee. None of the buttons or links work. These are just images taken from the actual survey package online internally at NASA.

You may also find the following surveys taken more than a decde ago to be of comparative interest:

1996 NASA Agencywide Employee & Customer Satisfaction Survey Results

1996 NASA Employee & Customer Satisfaction Survey Results (NASA HQ)

JPL HSPD 12 lawsuit Update

NASA researchers balk at background checks, Government Executive

"Several lawmakers have voiced displeasure to senior Bush administration officials about a new policy on background checks that has prompted nearly 30 scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to sue NASA. The employees, all of whom work for the California Institute of Technology, risk losing their jobs if they fail to comply with the investigations."

Griffin at IV&V

Editor's note: Mike Griffin spoke at IV&V today wherein he addressed dwindling research activities at NASA and how that may affect job security. Anyone who was at the speech is welcome to send in your notes/quotes on exactly what Griffin said. Send them to nasawatch@reston.com

Reader note: "Mike flew his own private plane out to Fairmont this morning. Bryan O'Connor also visited. After touring the facility (including a Shuttle landing simulator--where Mike safely landed on first try), there was QnA all-hands, not "a speech". I don't recall any mention of "dwindling research", but mostly how thinking about safety verification and validation, hardware or software, needs to be upfront in the design process for new systems as opposed to acting later in the "safe/unsafe umpire" way of doing business. Oh, also I don't recall anything about "job security" except for working through issues of uncovered capacity over the past 2 years and assigning space exploration work to previously "aero" centers. Some discussion of 10 healthy centers."

JPL Employees File Suit Over HSPD12

JPL Employees File Suit to End Background Investigations

"Twenty-eight senior scientists and engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL is a part of Caltech) have filed suit today in United States District Court for the Central District of California against NASA, the Department of Commerce and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) on behalf of a class of JPL employees who are being required to waive their privacy rights and submit to an unconstitutional intrusive background investigation in order to retain their jobs with JPL."

NASA Scientists Challenge Security Rules, The Nation

"Griffin came to JPL in June and told us this security decision was 'a direct result of 9/11,'" says Dennis Byrnes, chief engineer for flight dynamics at JPL and a thirty-year veteran of the lab. "But that was a lie. Other federal research labs aren't being required to go through this. Besides, if they're worried about terrorists, they should be checking all the UPS trucks that drive in here, not the scientists who have worked here for decades!"

Jerry Hammack

Jerry Hammack helped designed vehicles for space program, Obiturary, Houston Chronicle

"Jerome "Jerry" Hammack, an aeronautical engineer and member of the team that founded what is now the Johnson Space Center, died Monday of cancer. He was 85. Hammack also was associated with the design of the space capsule used in Project Mercury, NASA's first manned space program. He later had similar duties in the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and shuttle projects."

Today's Ask the Administrator Question

From: Konstantin Penanen (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
Date: 17-Aug-2007

Question(s): Mike, During your recent all-hands meeting at JPL a number of employees raised their concerns about the implementation of HSPD-12 and the resulting intrusive investigations. While you expressed your own basic comfort with the directive, you emphasized that the process is government-wide and your hands were tied.

We at JPL have the privilege of hosting a number of students and postdocs conducting long-term research projects. The Lab also has the privilege of hiring many highly-qualified, creative, and often nonconformist individuals. Some of these, as well as some of the current employees will make a career choice which will spare them repeated, intrusive background checks that include interrogations of friends and neighbors, credit checks and in some cases medical and financial history search. As you may have recently learned, the Department of Energy interprets HSPD-12 not to cover contractor employees without secret clearances at DOE National Labs (Deputy Secretary of Energy Clay Sell memorandum, October 13, 2005). Employees at FermiLab, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge and other FFRDCs will be issued site-local badge and no additional background investigations will be forced on them. Would you be satisfied with a similar approach for JPL, NASA's only FFRDC, if asked by JPL and Caltech leadership? Thanks for your answer.

Response: I cannot speak about the actions of other agencies regarding HSPD-12. OMB has approved and is overseeing NASA's implementation of HSPD-12 and NASA is doing what it needs to do to be compliant. I will not make an exception to our previously announced position regarding HSPD-12 implementation for JPL, its students, post-docs, or on-site contractors, nor for on-site contractors at other Centers, who - as it turns out - are equally "highly qualified" and "creative".

Reader note : Keith: Re: Ask the Administrator; JPL HSPD-12

I can't find any reference to DoE's 2005 exception for FFRDCs to not comply with HSPD-12. To the contrary, I find these websites which seem to indicate that their policy is the same as NASA's policy. Both of which are trying to comply with the federal mandate which makes no exceptions for "uncleared" personnel or FFRDCs.

http://www.directives.doe.gov/pdfs/doe/doetext/neword/206/n2064.pdf

http://www.oakridge.doe.gov/external/Programs/SupportingActivities/SecurityandEmergencyManagement/OROHSPD12Initiative/tabid/207/Default.aspx

Reader note : The memo is linked at

http://www.lbl.gov/CIO/PIV/

(see the link to the memo, http://www.lbl.gov/CIO/PIV/sellmemo.jpg )

The link you found appears to be old, posted before the memo. It refers to N206.2, which was issued in Sep. 05 and expired in 06. The new notices, superseding N206.2 are N206.3 and the current version N 206.4 http://www.directives.doe.gov/pdfs/doe/doetext/neword/206/n2064.html

N206.4 states:

APPLICABILITY.

a. All Departmental Elements. Except for the exclusion in paragraph 3c, this Notice applies to the badging of all DOE Federal employees, all contractor employees with an L or Q access authorization, uncleared contractor employees servicing the DOE Headquarters complex and applicants for employment in the populations described above within all Departmental elements who require a DOE security badge.

Oak Ridge newsletter, http://www.ornl.gov/info/reporter/no72/nov05_dw.htm (scroll down) from Nov. 2005 says:

DOE has scaled back many of the require ments of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, giving the order much less impact on the Lab than earlier thought (see Reporter No. 71). Per an Oct. 13 memo from DOE Headquarters, uncleared contractor employees will no longer be subject to a Personal Identity Verification process. Only Q- and L-cleared contractor staff, who have already undergone much of that process, will be required to comply with the PIV order.

It appears that HSPD-12 implementation stopped abruptly after the memo, and at many sites the old information remained orphaned.

Charles Force Has Died

NASA Mourns the Loss of Charles T. Force

"NASA notes with sadness the passing last week of Charles T. Force, former associate administrator for the agency's Office of Space Communications. Force left NASA in May 1996 after an aerospace career that spanned more than four decades. He joined NASA in 1965 as director of the Guam tracking station used to support the Apollo lunar landings. He would later go on to help develop, construct and employ NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, known as TDRSS."

Gilbrech To Head ESMD, Cabana To Head Stennis

NASA Administrator Announces Senior Leadership Appointments

"On Friday, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin named Richard J. Gilbrech as associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, the NASA division designing the next generation of spacecraft to return astronauts to the moon and eventually journey to Mars. Gilbrech currently serves as the director of NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Griffin also named Robert D. Cabana, deputy director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, to replace Gilbrech as center director at Stennis."

Workforce Issues at NASA

NASA: Progress Made on Strategic Human Capital Management, but Future Program Challenges Remain, GAO

"NASA recognizes that critical skills now present in the civil service and contractor Space Shuttle workforce are needed to complete present and future mission objectives, but also understands that additional capability will also be needed in certain areas. Given this, NASA is looking ahead and considering how best to mitigate any potential loss of skills and knowledge that could take place in the period between the Space Shuttle's retirement in 2010 and the resumption of human space flight in 2015."

Machinists Union to Testify Before House Science and Technology Committee on NASA Workplace Issues, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

"We welcome the opportunity to testify about the serious issues faced by workers at NASA's facility at Cape Canaveral," said Johnny Walker, District 166 Directing Business Representative who will be testifying for the IAM. The IAM represents more than 2,000 workers at NASA facilities at Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center."

Boeing and IAMAW Local Lodge 1163 Reach New Collective Bargaining Agreement

"The Boeing Company and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) Local Lodge 1163 have reached a new three-year collective bargaining agreement that affects 92 employees of the Checkout, Assembly and Payload Processing Services (CAPPS) program at Kennedy Space Center, Fla."

HSPD-12 Concerns at JPL Are Growing

Editor's note: The HSPD-12 issue has not gone away at JPL. Quite the contrary - people are more alarmed than ever. For further information on the JPL rebadging issue check out this website: http://www.editthis.info/jpl_rebadging/Main_Page and this one: http://www.hspd12jpl.org

Video of employees protesting HSPD-12 outside JPL and handing out flyers as other employees arrive at work.

You can also join a Yahoo group devoted to this issue.

Reader note: You might be interested to know that things are heating up at JPL around the implementation of HSPD-12. At this point in the process, virtually all employees have been assigned a 10-day window to submit the forms authorizing an unlimited background check, but according to the official JPL HSPD-12 web site there has been only about 50% compliance. The actual number quoted on the site are (note that there are approximately 6000 employees, and that the second category below is a subset of the first):

Individuals initiated for SF85/SF85P and Reviewed by JPL's OPS: 3141
Individual's Data Collected and Submitted to OPM: 2319
New ID Badges Issued: 0
Data from 8/2/07

(Interesting side story: The official site http://hspd12.jpl.nasa.gov has been cleared for external release to the public, and it was available to the public until mid-July 2007. NASA has now directed JPL to make it available only internally at JPL and one is redirected to the NASA site if accessed outside JPL.)

The following question and answer appears in the FAQ section of the official JPL HSPD12 web site (italics and underlining are from the original):

What happens if I don't complete my application within the 10-day time frame?

Due to the large number of applicants still to be processed, the Office of Protective Services will monitor the OPM initiation backlog list and you may be notified with the following email notification:

At this time you must submit a request to the JPL Office of Protective Services to reopen your account with OPM. In fairness to the employees who have not yet been initiated but who will be scheduled to do so in the coming weeks, your request will be put in a queue behind them. If you delay in submitting your request, we want to inform you there is a strong likelihood you may not get through the process before the October 27, 2007 due date, and you would be placed on an unpaid leave of absence. Please do not delay any longer.

If you do not submit a request within the next 15 days, you will not be able to do so before October 27, 2007 and JPL therefore will assume you intend to resign effective October 27, 2007 and begin to process your paperwork accordingly.

I don't know whether anyone has received such an email yet, but I have worked at JPL for over 30 years, and I have never been threatened with being fired (or being voluntarily resigned) in all that time.

You can check out what the resistance to this process has to say at http://www.hspd12jpl.org

Christopher Scolese is named as new NASA Associate Administrator

Scolese to Succeed Geveden as NASA Associate Administrator, NASA

"NASA Associate Administrator Rex Geveden announced Wednesday that he will leave the agency at the end of July to join Teledyne Technologies as the president of Teledyne Brown Engineering, Huntsville, Ala. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has selected Christopher Scolese to succeed Geveden as associate administrator, the No. 3 position in the agency."

Griffin's Gentle Approach

NASA Lab Workers Decry New Security Checks, Science (subscription)

"If you do not want to surrender the information to allow your background to be checked ... then you cannot work within the federal system," Griffin told JPL employees during a 4 June visit. That message hasn't gone down well among some JPL employees. "Signing this form amounts to inviting the government to go on an open fishing expedition," says planetary scientist Robert Nelson."

Griffin Starts Echoing OneNASA Concepts

NASA Strategic Management Council 22 May 2007: Available for New Work (AFNW) Status Report

"Griffin remained firm that JSC will not grow to meet excess demand. He noted that he has been clear in his direction to the mission directorates, but that it is clear from the continuing problem that mission directorates and program and project managers are not working to achieve the same goals. Griffin related his previous experience managing military development programs that were dispersed across dozens of organizations across the country before the days of the high-speed internet. He reported that military space projects got done, with no higher failure rate than at NASA. He directed members to tell program managers they have no choice--four or five centers are not going to go out of business enabling a couple of centers to limit work to their own centers and contractors. Griffin praised SMD Associate Administrator Alan Stern for determining to assign future work to the JPL rather than competing it in order to maintain workforce at the laboratory."

Personnel Changes at HQ

Editor's note: Bobby German has been named Deputy Chief Information Officer at NASA HQ. Also, William Bruner has been named Acting Assistant Administrator for Legislative Affairs.

ARC Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Incident

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Incident

"On Monday, June 11, 2007, a contractor employee accidentally sent an email to 39 recipients at Ames with an attachment containing Personally Identifiable Information (PII) for 426 other Ames contractor employees. The affected employees work for seven organizations under contract to NASA Ames. The companies are: QSS, Tessada, EASI, Eloret, Foothill Community College District, Weigel and Oak Ridge Associated Universities."

Deleted

Agency-wide NASA Update on Tuesday

NASA Update with the Administrator and Deputy Administrator

"Administrator Michael Griffin and Deputy Administrator Shana Dale will host a NASA Update tomorrow at 1 p.m. EDT in the Headquarters auditorium. The program will be broadcast live on NASA TV and will be available on the Internet. During the program, employees will be able to ask questions from Headquarters and participating centers. Employees may also e-mail questions in advance to: nasaupdate@hq.nasa.gov"

Security Issues At JPL

NASA contractors raise concerns about looming security checks, AP

"Several aired their frustration to NASA Administrator Michael Griffin on Monday during an hour-long, all-hands meeting at the lab that was closed to the public and media. Griffin apologized to those who found the new system intrusive but said that it was a "privilege to work within the federal system, not a right" and that he would carry out the order unless it was overturned in court, according to a video of the meeting obtained by The Associated Press. Griffin said he had no qualms about giving up personal information. "I'm sorry if it sounds to you that I've surrendered to the dark side. I don't see it that way," he said."

- NASA JPL HSPD-12 Meeting Ends Abruptly, earlier post
- JPL Employee Concerns About Background Checks, earlier post
- Letter from Rep. Rush Holt to Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez Regarding Homeland Security Presidential Directive #12, earlier post
- Internal NASA JPL Memo Regarding Privacy Issues Associated with the Implementation of HSPD#12

NASA JPL HSPD-12 Meeting Ends Abruptly

Reader note: "Today we (JPL folks) learned that Rep. Rush Holt has taken up our cause and has asked the Secretary of Commerce to explain why so much personal information is needed for the new HSPD-12 badging process. Text is here.

In addition, I attended today's standing-room-only meeting to discuss the new badging process to JPL'ers and the presenters refused to discuss several key issues regarding how the data is to be handled, who has access to the data, and why the release form allows investigators access to *any* records including financial and medical. It was made very clear to the employees that if we didn't "voluntarily" give them the information they seek, that we wouldn't have a job come October 29th."

"The highlight of the meeting came when someone pointed out that most of us would be commiting perjury if we signed a release stating that we gave the information voluntarily. Randy Aden, JPL security chief, directed his staff member not to addesss the question and the meeting ended abruptly."

Fred Wilshusen Has Died

Fred Wilshusen, Rocket Pioneer, dies at age 84, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

"Fred Wilshusen, rocket pioneer, died May 15, 2007, at the age of 84. Born in 1925 in Boulder, Colorado, Fred served in the Navy as a radar technician, patrolling the pacific coast for Japanese submarines in torpedo bombers, during WWII. After the war, he earned his Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He joined the fledging Upper Air Laboratory at CU as a graduate student in 1956. ... Tell us your story about Fred in the LASP blog."

NASA Workforce Hearing Update

Subcommittee Focuses on Ensuring the Health and Vitality of NASA's Current and Future Workforce, House Science and Technology Committee

"The House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics today examined a range of National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) workforce issues identified by the recently released reports of two independent review panels. The Subcommittee's work is aimed at ensuring the health and vitality of the NASA workforce in the 21st century."

- Opening Statement By Chairman Mark Udall
- Statement by Lee Stone
- Statement by David C. Black
- Statement by John G. Stewart
- Statement by Toni Dawsey

NASA Workforce Hearing

Witnesses Say That NASA Workforce Must Be Ready for Future Challenges, House Science and Technology Committee

"Dr. David Black, co-chair of the Committee on Meeting the Workforce Needs for the National Vision for Space Exploration at the National Research Council, summed up the current workforce challenge, saying, "NASA has too few program and project managers and systems engineers with the requisite experience in human spaceflight systems development to successfully oversee Vision for Space Exploration projects."

 Lee Stone testifies before Congress, Ames Federal Employees Union

"As many of you have heard, our own VP of Legislative Affairs, Dr. Leland Stone, testified before the Subcommittee for Space & Aeronautics, a House subcommittee of the Space & Technology Committee. The hearing subject was, "Building and Maintaining a Healthy and Strong NASA Workforce". Lee represented IFPTE employees at NASA before the subcommittee and provided written testimony to the subcommittee. This is the second time he has testified before this subcommittee."

Audio of the hearing.
Lee's written testimony.

Dumbacher To Head MSFC Engineering Directorate

NASA MSFC internal Memo: Key Personnel Announcement: Daniel L. Dumbacher

"I am pleased to announce the selection of Mr. Daniel L. Dumbacher to the position of Director, Engineering Directorate, George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Alabama.  Mr. Dumbacher replaces Mr. Michael U. Rudolphi who retired in March 2007."

Robert Lightfoot Is New Deputy CD at MSFC

Robert Lightfoot Named Deputy Director of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

"David King, director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., today named Robert Lightfoot as the new deputy director of the center. Lightfoot replaces Charles Chitwood who has accepted a position in private industry. Since October 2005, Lightfoot has served as director of the Shuttle Propulsion Office, where he is responsible for the manufacture, assembly and operation of the primary Shuttle propulsion elements."

JPL Employee Concerns About Background Checks

NASA employees object to data-gathering actions, Government Executive

"Lawmakers are investigating accusations that federal agencies are violating civil liberties in enforcing a presidential security directive that requires workers and contractors to undergo background checks in order to enter government buildings and computer systems. On April 26, a bipartisan group of scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory wrote a letter to Reps. Rush Holt, D-N.J., and Vernon Ehlers, R-Mich. The scientists urged an end to the policy of gathering extensive personal information, including racial, ethnic, financial and medical details as part of the new security protocol."

Internal NASA JPL Memo Regarding Privacy Issues Associated with the Implementation of HSPD#12

"We are being asked to sign blanket waivers that permit investigators to intrude into our personal financial and medical records. The information that we are being asked to supply is very similar to the information requested for a full security clearance. The support documents provided to us by NASA associated with the HSPD #12 implementation contain numerous errors or falsehoods. We are all aware that falsification of federal documents is a crime so one might charitably assume that these mistakes are due to incompetence rather than outright deceit. Nevertheless, it raises serious concern regarding the confidence that should be placed in the security of our personal information once it is placed in the hands of such incompetent individuals as those within NASA who are forcing these documents upon us."

NASA Implementation of Homeland Security Presidential Directive #12 (HSPD-12)

"I am an employee of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and reside in Sierra Madre so I am doubly a constituent of yours. I am quite concerned with the implementation of HSPD-12 by JPL/Caltech under direction of NASA. To wit: I believe it to be an unwarranted intrusion into my personal life and an unconstitutional violation of my civil rights."

Comments? Send them to nasawatch@reston.com Your comments thus far:

I am complying with the request and submitting the paperwork required for the background check. However, I am wondering if some of my information will be acceptable.

I have moved 3 times in the last 7 years. In the area where you list your previous addresses, you are asked to list someone "who knew you well at that address and who preferably still lives in the area." I never got to know my neighbors.I listed friends who live several miles away but visited me at the address.

I can not help but wonder what the government will do with this bit of information.

Hi Keith,

Some comments on the rebadging process from a contractor at GSFC, because I think the views expressed so far have been somewhat specific to JPL... Please DO NOT use my name or email address because it's usually not good for a contractor to make noise.

Like most of the others that have sent comments, I am not pleased at the prospect of an invasive background check to keep my job at NASA. However, I do understand the rationale for the background checks and would, in principle, comply without complaint provided a reasonable level of sanity and courtesy were extended by NASA management to those of us going through the process at GSFC. In fact, Goddard management has very clearly given the rebadging process insufficient thought, and exacerbated the matter by extending little or no consideration (or courtesy) to employees. Some examples follow.

Prior to undergoing a background check, each employee is supposed to be assigned a "risk designation". There is a standard procedure for this, namely completing a "NASA Position Designation Record" (form NF1722), which takes into consideration different levels of access to NASA computers and financial records, etc., in scoring each individual. Although the form is more confusing than it need be, it is clear that most Goddard employees would be assigned a risk level of "low". The background investigation for a low risk position requires the completion of an "SF85" form to collect personal information needed for the investigation. I suspect that most people (myself included) would be annoyed but not excessively troubled by the requisite encroachment of privacy in completing the SF85, and would comply with at most minor griping.

Unfortunately, for reasons that are not entirely clear, Goddard management instead decided to summarily raise the risk designation for all 5,000+ contractor employees having a badge (even those of us off-site) to a minimum of "public trust and/or sensitive position", in lieu of the standard risk designation process. This higher risk level requires a more invasive background investigation (form "SF85P") which, depending on the information gathered during the initial investigation, may then require one to provide signed releases for additional financial and medical information. This implicit reclassification did nothing to instill trust in management. The perception among many employees is that those civil servants in charge of the rebadging process are 1) lazy, 2) have no concern for employee privacy, and 3) are possibly doing something illegal.

Until several weeks ago, Goddard management had improperly (and, again, possibly illegally) required all employees to sign the financial and medical information releases in advance. This further eroded trust in management, because it demonstrated that those directing the rebadging process were at least ill-informed, and possibly incompetent. Personally, I find the implications of this blunder somewhat disturbing: The financial and medical releases never expire, hence our government can, at any time in the future, legally demand financial and medical information about those individuals forced to sign the releases in advance. We have been told that there is no way to "take back" the releases since they have been electronically sent to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Couple these events with the normal levels of anxiety over the background investigations, numerous unresolved issues with the forthcoming smart cards, legitimate concerns over the loss or theft of our detailed personal information, and concerns over the impact of the enormous cost of the rebadging process (while we simultaneously lay off cleaning staff, telephone operators, and library staff) and I think it's understandable why some of us are, in the words of an earlier post, "crybabies" about this matter.

I really have to wonder why I have to go through an extensive background check to perform the same unclassified (and non-sensitive) job that I have had for 30+ years. Also, I am very worried about identity theft. The Transportation Safety Administration, part of the Department of Homeland Security, admitted last Friday to losing a hard disk with 100,000 employee records. If Homeland Security can't protect it's own records, what hope is there for NASA doing so, or whoever NASA turns the records over to? Will NASA insure us against any losses due to identity theft? I'm nearing retirement and I wonder if it's worth it to risk my life savings, rather than retire now and not go through this onerous process.

"Whaaaaaaaaa!  I've got to fill out a form asking for personal information!  I don't like it.  Whaaaa!"

So go the NASA crybabies.  Life's tough.  Get over it.

But that's not the point, is it?  The real issue is this: "What is NASA or the DHS going to do with this mountain of information??"

Are we going to see massive armies of government bureaucrats swarming across the country conducting background interviews on the shadier characters??

Will there be more budget cuts to NASA science programs to fund this "security theatre" DHS show??

And most importantly, what's the final scenario in this fire drill??  Is anyone going to be terminated because of the information gathered on them??  Can you say BIG LAWSUIT TIME??

Would someone point out to the NASA Civil Servant that JPLer are NOT Civil Servants?  JPL is a contractor-run facility.  I also work for a NASA contractor (Lockheed Martin), 100% of my salary comes from taxpayer dollars - but  I was never subjected to a 3 hour form until I applied for a security clearance.  So, will Boeing, Northrup Grumman, Lockheed Martin, etc. be next on the list of contractors who must spend their overhead dollars for employees to fill out forms (yeah, that will raise the overhead rates!!)?  Seems unfair to single out one contractor.

Keith, Wow-JPL employees (can someone remind them their salaries come from tax payer dollars) have been working on highly sensitive projects (not classified) for years without having adequate background checks. Sounds like a great idea, huh? Now they have to go through the exact same background checks as their civil servant peers (many of whom aren't working on projects that are as sensitive). Sounds like California to me.

-A NASA Civil Servant who has been fingerprinted, disclosed his finances, and agreed to a background check.

I have the form sitting on my desktop but have yet to be triggered to fill it out. Odd thing about this... I have had Secret clearances, even and EBI in the past and know that they are quite expensive to do. If they do everybody in NASA wow that's a lot of money! Have heard this is Home Land Security, which makes sense, because NASA could not afford it.

I hadn't considered that the data requested might be a violation of civil rights, but it's certainly....extensive. It took me about 3 hours to get it all filled out, there is no doubt the requirement is onerous to say the least. I hope I at least get a security clearance for my trouble (ha!).

Interesting comments on the background check. Here at JSC, they've been having people fill out the forms similar to what is now on eQuip for far longer than was required by this new security law. I know I had to fill them out and get fingerprinted when I hired in about 6 years ago. They gave me a little bit of grief because I had traveled extensively out of the country on holidays and couldn't provide precise dates (at the time there were only 3 lines for out of country travel. 3!)

I believe it is actually fairly common for employeers to run a credit check on new employees (this isn't my first job where I had to sign that release form). Also, it is fairly common for employeers to ask for a few references to confirm your "past". But I do agree with the gentleman from JPL that everything beyond that is a very intruisive request for a civilian hire.

Where Will NASA Find The People To Implement the VSE?

Building a Better NASA Workforce: Meeting the Workforce Needs for the National Vision for Space Exploration, National Academy of Sciences

"A problem faced by the committee was a lack of data, as well as differing interpretations of future requirements for certain skills and an absence of information correlating levels of expertise required with the numbers of employees anticipated to be needed. Based on available demographic data, however, the committee concluded that, in the broadest sense, there is no looming national shortage of skilled scientists and engineers to implement the VSE over the long term."

Hearing: Building and Maintaining a Healthy and Strong NASA Workforce (17 May 2007)

Glenn Osborn Has Died

Osborn, veteran audio engineer at NASA, Houston Chronicle

"Glenn Richard Osborn, a longtime NASA audio engineer whose contributions enabled presidents, foreign dignitaries and news reporters to speak with and question astronauts while they were in space, has died. He was 78."

Griffin Seeks to Modify Civil Service

NASA chief asks lawmakers for more workforce flexibilities, Government Executive

"The head of NASA is calling on lawmakers to give the agency the flexibility to offer workers financial incentives to move from permanent to temporary civil service positions."

ARC's Johnny Green Has Died

Editor's note: Memos from ARC Center Director Pete Worden and Lewis Braxton, Director of Center Operations - and a photo of Mr. Green follows:

TO: Resident Staff

FROM: Lewis S.G. Braxton III, Director, Center Operations

SUBJECT: U.S. Flags at Half-Staff in Honor of the Passing of Johnny Green

As indicated in a prior centerwide e-mail, Security Officer John Green passed away on Saturday, March 10, 2007. John Green served in the U.S. Navy for 26 years, retiring as a Senior Chief in 1988. During his time in the Navy, he served a tour of duty in Vietnam, was stationed in Japan, and served on multiple aircraft carriers. His last duty station was NASA Moffett Field. John also held a Bachelor's Degree in Aeronautics with a minor in Business from Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach, FL. Five years ago, he began employment with SecTek Inc, serving as a Security Officer in support of the Ames Protective Services Office. During this time, Johnny made a positive impact on every person who entered through a gate he was guarding. His encouraging words, unfailing smile, and energetic signature arm pump will be missed. Few people have found such simple ways to leave such a lasting impression in the hearts of so many.

On Thursday, March 15, 2007, the United States flags at NASA Ames Research Center are flying at half-staff in honor of John Green. John's family has requested that a service, with military honors, be provided in a location in which all who have been touched by John may attend. While details such as dates and times are still being worked, it is anticipated that the services will be held on the Parade Grounds inside Shenandoah Historic District at the NASA Ames Research Center. Further information on services will be provided when it is known.

From: Centerwide Announcement
Subject: Message from the Center Director Acknowledging the Passing of Johnny Green
Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2007 17:56:06 -0700
To: (Recipient list suppressed)

Message from the Center Director Acknowledging the Passing of Johnny Green

In the short five years that he was here, Johnny Green became an institution unto himself at the Ames Research Center. Every single day that Johnny was on duty, he was unfailingly cheerful, ready to greet every last one of us with a broad grin and a kind word and a gentle easing into the workday.

But we have lost that welcoming voice. Johnny Green died this weekend of a heart attack while playing basketball.

We were hoping to provide you with information about funeral and memorial services, etc., but the details are not yet clear. This much I can say:

1. We had been planning to gather on March 14 at 3:30 p.m. in the Mega Bites Cafeteria. We will now take this gathering as an opportunity to remember, and celebrate the life of, Johnny Green, and to honor his rich contribution to the Ames Research Center.

2. We will plant a tree in his honor, near the front gate from which he greeted us.

We will tell you of other arrangements as soon as the information becomes available.

I can think of no other individual on the center who has touched so many lives so deeply. I share your sorrow at this great collective loss.

S. Pete Worden
Center Director

Reader note: First of all thank you so much for writing about Mr. Green on NASA watch. He was so beloved here its hard for me to even begin to tell you. One of the many things he was great at was cooking he would bring desserts to our parties. He was intending to bring a pie to our pi break tomorrow (date 3.14 1:59 pm). Please find attached an image of Mr. Green at our last pie occasion. Mr. Green is on the left in the red shirt.

There Is Life After NASA

BESE names Pastorek education superintendent, The Advocate

[Former NASA General Counsel] Paul Pastorek, former president of the state's top school board, was chosen today as Louisiana's new superintendent of education.

NASA Space Flight Health Standards Report Due in March

Editor's note: According to the National Academies of Science, "Review of NASA's Space Flight Health Standards-Setting Process" (Letter Report) is due to be released in March by the Institute of Medicine. This report "Assesses the current process by which NASA establishes space flight health standards such as fitness-for-duty criteria and limits on radiation and other exposures.  The standards are intended to mitigate health risks astronauts face during long missions."

Merry Christmas from USA

Pensions lost in space - Boeing employees transferred to United Space Alliance were promised pensions -- until now, Orlando Sentinel

"After six years of receiving pension checks that she had come to depend on, Lillian West received a shocking letter in December. The monthly checks had been sent in error and would cease immediately, the letter informed her -- but that wasn't all. The sender, Boeing Co., wanted all of its money back -- more than $32,000 -- in either a lump sum or 20 quarterly installments of $1,630.09."

NASA HQ and GSFC Heads Up (weather)

Editor's note: According to an OPM status report: "The following message applies only to Monday, February 26, 2007 - Federal agencies in the Washington, DC, area are OPEN under an UNSCHEDULED LEAVE policy."

According to NASA GSFC: "Code Blue In Effect for Goddard Greenbelt Facility - As of 5:00 a.m., on Monday, February 26, 2007, the Goddard Greenbelt Facility is operating under CODE BLUE."

"CODE BLUE: The Center is operating under a liberal leave condition. Non-emergency personnel may request and will be granted annual leave by the supervisor without prior approval. All employees are reminded to use their best judgment when planning their commute to the Center."

Hiring Civil Servants Vs Outsourcing

NASA Strategic Management Council Meeting: Uncovered Capacity

"Looking ahead at the transition from the Shuttle and International Space Station to exploration, if there is no change in the way NASA does business, more and more of its work will go to contractors. Griffin is not looking to increase the number of NASA civil servants, but wants to ensure that in the future NASA civil servants are more involved in architecture and technical work."

NASA-Ames readies for budget cuts, Mountain View Voice

"Even though President Bush's budget proposal calls for a 3.1 percent increase in funds to NASA, officials at the agency, including NASA-Ames Director S. Pete Worden, say ambitious future projects mean it may not be enough to meet upcoming needs. Even so, Worden said, activities at Moffett Field are currently moving ahead as planned, with 50 new civil servant positions slated for the coming year."

Editor's note: as is mentioned by the author of this article "William D. Griffin, a NASA administrator" is somewhat erroneous.

Charles D. Brown Has Died

Editor's note: An AIAA email going around today: "Charles D. Brown, 76, longtime AIAA author, professional development instructor, and associate fellow, died 20 January 2007. Known to the book and professional development staff as Charlie, he was one of our most cherished assets. His teaching inspired his three successful AIAA textbooks and home study courses. Spacecraft Mission Design, Spacecraft Propulsion, and Elements of Spacecraft Design all have been widely adopted for university classroom use."

Waiting for the Layoffs to Begin at KSC

Hubble mission now last flight for Atlantis, Huntsville Times

"Cowing said the date also should be a reasonable indicator of when shuttle workers might "start being either shifted to other work, retired or possibly laid off. "One would suspect that the last mission for Atlantis would be a red light for layoffs."

Former FEMA Deputy Director Hired at NASA HQ

Editor's note: NASA Headquarters has a new political appointee in its employ: Patrick Rhode. He'll be working on the 9th floor.

For those of you who followed the post-Katrina management fiasco at FEMA you may recall hearing his name. Rhode served as FEMA Director Michael Brown's Chief of Staff and later, as Acting Deputy Director of FEMA. I am sure the folks at Stennis and Michoud will be thrilled to learn this.

Editor's update: Patrick  Rhode is now listed in NASA's online phonebook as a "senior advisor" to "Organization: A" (Office of the Administrator)

What follows are a few media excerpts from that time:

President Bush Appoints Arkansas Native As Chief Of Staff At The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA

"Before joining FEMA, Rhode was associate administrator at the U.S. Small Business Administration and White House liaison for the Department of Commerce. His first position with the Bush Administration was as special assistant to the President and deputy director of National Advance Operations, a position he assumed in January 2001. Previously, Rhode served as deputy director of National Advance Operations for the George W. Bush Presidential Campaign, in Austin, Texas. His other professional credits include serving in communications and public affairs roles in the Texas state government and the private sector."

Welcome to the Hackocracy, The New Republic

"Never fear, though: Rhode has covered disasters--as a TV anchor for local network affiliates in Alabama and Arkansas, in which capacity he developed "an acute interest in what responders do in times of crises." Perhaps not acute enough. He recently said that FEMA's response to Katrina was "probably one of the most efficient and effective responses in the country's history."

FEMA packed with W's pals, NY Daily News

"Even if Bush were to fire embattled and suddenly invisible FEMA Director Michael Brown over his handling of Hurricane Katrina, the bureaucrat immediately below him is no disaster professional, either. While Brown ran horse shows in his last private-sector job, FEMA's No. 2 man, deputy director and chief of staff Patrick Rhode, was an advance man for the Bush-Cheney campaign and White House. He also did short stints at the Commerce Department and Small Business Administration."

Leaders Lacking Disaster Experience, Washington Post

"Rhode, Brown's chief of staff, is a former television reporter who came to Washington as advance deputy director for Bush's Austin-based 2000 campaign and then the White House. He joined FEMA in April 2003 after stints at the Commerce Department and the U.S. Small Business Administration."

FEMA e-mails expose problems in Katrina response, Federal Times

"On the evening of Aug. 27, FEMA Chief of Staff Patrick Rhode wrote to Brown, "I shouldn't, but am feeling like we are doing most of the right things at this point in prep."

Dubya TV: Bush Is Really Fond of Broadcasters, 30 April 2006, Broadcasting & Cable

"Then there are former NBC cameraman Bob DeServi and ex-Fox News producer Greg Jenkins, and Patrick Rhode, who presumably learned all he needed to know about disaster management as a news anchor in Arkansas and Alabama before he became chief of staff for FEMA washout Michael "Brownie" Brown at the emergency agency."

Exposed by Katrina, FEMA's flaws were years in making, USA Today

"But that's only the tip of FEMA's management problems. Brown's top deputy, Patrick Rhode, is equally inexperienced, according to his resume. Rhode worked for Bush's 2000 campaign and for the White House doing advance operations."

Former FEMA Director Brown Disputed Katrina Levee Breaches, E-Mails Show, Fox News

"Brown's own schedule was booked with media interviews in the days immediately before and after the storm. At 6:21 a.m. the day Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, Brown was prepping for an interview and e-mailing with his then-deputy, Patrick Rhode.

"Yea, sitting in the chair, putting mousse in my hair," Brown e-mailed Rhode.

"Me too!" Rhode replied."

S. Rept. 109-322 -- Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared

"In response to one of Senator Collins' Questions for the Record submitted aft er Secretary Chertoff's appearance before the Committee on February 15, 2006, the Secretary was critical of just such a reliance on e-mails to communicate important information. Specifically, he criticized FEMA Acting Deputy Director Patrick Rhode for using e-mail to provide a report of the Bahamonde overflight to Deputy Secretary Jackson: "E-mails are not the most appropriate way of conveying urgent or important information, especially late at night. Instead, the right course would have been to notify the HSOC, which reaches both the Deputy Secretary and me by telephone at any time of day or night." Source: Questions for the Record of Sec. Chertoff, Senate Committee hearing, Feb. 15, 2006, p. 10; "

John McLeaish Has Died

John McLeaish, former Space Center spokesman, dead at 77, AP

"Former Johnson Space Center spokesman John E. McLeaish has died in San Antonio. He was 77."

More Buyouts at LaRC

NASA LaRC Internal Memo: Buyout Approved

"As you may know, the Agency has offered Centers the opportunity to participate in a buyout this FY.  Langley submitted a plan, and I am happy to report that we have received approval to offer the buyout at the Center."

McManus Heading for DOC

McManus moves from NASA to Commerce, FCW.com

"John McManus, NASA’s deputy chief information officer and chief technology officer, will start Nov. 13 as the Commerce Department’s deputy CIO and CTO, Commerce CIO Barry West said Nov. 6."

NASA HQ Personnel Update

NASA Internal Memo: Doug Comstock, David Schurr Named to Leadership Positions

"NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale has announced the appointment of NASA Comptroller Douglas A. Comstock as the director of the agency's Innovative Partnerships Program Office. He will be succeeded as comptroller by David C. Schurr. Both appointments are effective Oct. 29, 2006."

In Case You Are Wondering Who's Who at NASA

NASA Internal Memo: Latest Officials-in-Charge of Headquarters Offices/Directors, NASA Centers listing

New Management Document in Use at NASA

NASA Strategic Management Council Meeting Minutes and Actions
Date: 17 March 2006 Time: 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM (EST)
Location: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Building 1, Rooms E100 D&E

"SMC Action: Michael Wholley, General Counsel, offered to provide members with some guidance on management responsibility in ensuring open communication without fear of retribution.

Michael Coats, Director of the Johnson Space Center, presented Griffin with The Complete Idiot's Guide to NASA by former astronaut Thomas Jones."

Michael Coats, Director of the Johnson Space Center, presented Griffin with The Complete Idiot's Guide to NASA by former astronaut Thomas Jones.

Vladimir Sergeevich Syromiatnikov has died

Reader note: "We received this message this morning from our colleagues in Korelov. Vladimir Syromiatnikov was truly a pioneer in the Russian space program and in the joint American / Russian programs. He was the guiding force behind the Russian docking mechanisms for multiple decades of spaceflight and he was truly, truly and unique man."

Workforce and Accounting Update

Letter from NASA Administrator Griffin to Rep. Wolf Regarding Workforce Issues

Letter from NASA AA for Legislative Affairs Chase to Rep. Kucinich Regarding Workforce Issues

Talking Points: Full Cost Management and Overhead Simplification, NASA HQ

"While it appears that the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) will take a significant hit as a result of this accounting change, the overhead simplification structure is a good thing for ARMD. ARMD will still have the same direct buying power. ARMD will not lose research dollars. But the change will free ARMD from the fiscal responsibility of having to carry the majority of overhead costs for the four research Centers."

No Surprise in KSC Center Director Choice

NASA Names Parsons New Kennedy Space Center Director

"NASA Administrator Michael Griffin today named William (Bill) W. Parsons the new director of the agency's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., effective in January 2007. Parsons succeeds James W. Kennedy, who is retiring."

Big Changes Ahead at SMD

Editor's 11 Sep 2006 update: I just got a call from NASA PAO relaying a message from Colleen Hartman to the effect that she is "not leaving NASA". Given the broad range and location of people who have been circulating the news (from within SMD among other places) that she is leaving (please note my phrasing below i.e. "multiple sources report") beginning the middle of last week, I might suggest that a means other than NASA Watch be used to let SMD employees know what is going on within the Division - before things make their way onto NASA Watch.

Editor's 11 Sep 2006 note: Multiple sources report that Colleen Hartman, Mary Cleave's Deputy will be leaving NASA - most likely to return to NOAA where she used to work. As such, the search will be on for new top management for SMD.

Editor's 5 Sep 2006 note: SMD AA Mary Cleave told her staff in an SMD-wide email today that she will be leaving NASA next Spring. Her (short) note said:

"Dear colleagues in SMD

I just wanted to let you know that I am planning on retiring this Spring. We want to ensure that there is adequate time to find a replacement and have a good hand over period. It has been an honor and privilege to work in the federal service with you, mary"

A New IV&V Facility Director (Finally)

Reader note: "Dale (Butch) Caffall will be the next IV&V Facility Director. The effective date is September 17th."

Astronaut Office Changes - Update

NASA Management Astronauts Announce Changes, Retirement

"Veteran astronauts and Flight Crew Operations Directorate managers Ken Bowersox and Kent Rominger have announced intentions to depart from NASA."

Layoffs Begin at KSC

Layoffs Hit Kennedy Space Center, Central Florida News 13

"In an exclusive report, David Waters at Central Florida News13 has learned that in a cost cutting move, one of NASA's contractors will be laying off workers at the Space Center. This move comes just days before another scheduled launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. 75 NASA contractors will lose their jobs. They work for SGS, a contractor that keeps the infrastructure of the space center running. The contractor fought to keep some jobs, but now have to tell those 75 employees, they'll no longer have a job at the space center."

Rocco Petrone Has Died

Rocco A. Petrone, obituary, LA Times

"... He passed away August 24, 2006 at home in Palos Verdes Estates, California. He graduated from West Point in 1946 serving in the Army. He joined NASA in 1960 where he worked in the Apollo program. Later in his career he was with Rockwell's Space Transportation Division."

SMD Management Update

Reader note: "There was a listing in the Washington Post today (Section F, pg. 6) for the SES jobs of Director & Deputy Director, Planetary Science Division in SMD at NASA Hq ..."

Astronaut Office Changes

Editor's note: Astronaut Steve Lindsey has been selected to head the Astronaut Office. CB's current Chief, Kent Rominger, is going to be leaving NASA. The change is effective 1 October. Also, astronaut Mike Bloomfield will become Deputy Director of the Flight Crew Operations Directorate (FCOD). FCOD's current director is astronaut Ken Bowersox.

New Faces at SMD?

Editor's note: Are big changes ahead at NASA's Science Mission Directorate? With the recent departure of Carl Pilcher and Andy Dantzler from SMD, mounting concern in Congress and the scientific community about NASA's committment to space science, and the recent resignation of Wes Huntress, Eugene Levy, and Charles Kennel from the NAC Science Subcommittee, something needs to be fixed. SMD AA Mary Cleave's retirement - perhaps as early as November 2006 - has been discussed with some people. With senior SMD personnel departing, and many others at SMD in temporary or acting positions, now would be a good time for Mike Griffin to clear the decks and bring in a new team to get the SMD back on its feet.

Then again, with Griffin's accelerating evisceration of NASA space science projects ...

Memorial service for the late Mike Dornheim

A memorial service for the late Mike Dornheim, senior engineering editor and Los Angeles bureau chief for Aviation Week & Space Technology killed June 3 in a car accident near Malibu, Calif. will be held Aug. 19 at 2-5 p.m. PDT at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

The program will be held in the Muses Room of the Annenberg Building at 700 State Dr. For directions: http://www.californiasciencecenter.org/GenInfo/PlanningYourVisit/Directions/Directions.php Tele. 323-724-3623

GRC Layoff Update

NASA Glenn layoff plans on hold for now, Cleveland Plain Dealer

"NASA Glenn Research Center employees whose jobs were threatened by budget cuts got a reprieve last week: Management is "indefinitely postponing" the process of preparing for layoffs, a memo issued to employees said."

Ansel Butterfield Has Died

Ansel J. Butterfield, Daily Press

"... in 1969 where he was one of the key project managers for the Viking Project to send a lander to Mars. His name is one of only a few that appears on a small plaque attached to the lander that remains on the planet to this day."

Guy Etheridge Memorial Information

Guy Etheridge Memorial Information, Astrobiology.net

"To the Gravitational and Space Biology Family: We have all been saddened by the passing of Guy Etheridge this week. His death is a great loss for NASA and especially for KSC. We will miss him in many ways."

NAI Gets a New Director

NASA Ames Announces Change in Astrobiology Management

"Dr. Carl Pilcher, senior scientist for astrobiology at NASA Headquarters, Washington, has been appointed director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) based at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. The appointment is effective Sept. 18, 2006."

Guy Etheridge Has Died

Man faces charges in crash that killed 2, Orlando Sentinel

"Passers-by got all of the occupants out except the driver of the GMC, Guy John Etheridge, 43, of Merritt Island, who died at the scene."

Reader note: Keith - I don't know if you knew Guy Etheridge from KSC, but he was tragically killed in a car accident this weekend when he was hit by a drunk driver.

His wife and one daughter were also involved in the accident but are unhurt physically. There was a fourth passenger, Samantha Leveilee, a friend of Guy's daughter, who was also killed. Guy was a long time friend in life sciences, who provided functional program management for biological sciences, integrating research and development activities and operations of the Kennedy Space Center's Space Life Sciences Laboratory. He touched many lives in and outside of NASA. He was originally from Terre Haute Indiana, and was an alumni of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, in which he just spoke to a group of young engineers this past June in the "Operation Catapult" summer education program.

New Things For NASA to Collect ABout You

NASA Notice of proposed revisions to an existing Privacy Act system of records

"This system of records is being revised to describe the additional types of information being collected by NASA required by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors) and FIPS 201 (Personal Identity Verification (PIV) of Federal Employees and Contractors)."

SMD Personnel Update

Internal NASA GSFC Memo: Space Science Management Changes

"I'm pleased to inform you that our own Jim Green, currently head of the Science Proposal Support Office (SPSO), will be detailed to NASA HQ as the Acting Director of the Planetary Science Division of SMD. ... Anne Kinney has agreed to become the acting head of SPSO in Jim's absence."

James Van Allen Has Died

U.S. Space Pioneer, UI Professor James A. Van Allen Dies, University of Iowa

"Dr. James A. Van Allen, U.S. space pioneer and Regent Distinguished Professor of Physics in the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, died this morning, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2006 at the age of 91. Arrangements are pending. Though he retired from active teaching in 1985, he continued to monitor data from Pioneer 10 throughout the spacecraft's 1972-2003 operational lifetime and serve as an interdisciplinary scientist for the Galileo spacecraft, which reached Jupiter on Dec. 7, 1995."

IFPTE Weighs In on NASA Budget, Workforce Issues

IFPTE Reponses to Questions for The Record: NASA Workforce Hearing

"IFPTE believes that most employees are pleased to see, once again, a bright, dedicated, and fully technically engaged Administrator at the helm. Unfortunately, despite his many talents, Dr. Griffin cannot turn straw into gold, nor can he make the Vision for Space Exploration a reality with the proposed budget. IFPTE is very grateful for the strong bi-partisan endorsement that NASA received from its Authorizers in their call in the Authorization Act of 2005 for sustained growth in NASA's budget to match the sustained growth in NASA's responsibilities. Unfortunately, neither the President nor House Appropriators seem to have listened."

All Hands @ LaRC

Town Hall Meeting at NASA LaRC

"You are invited to attend a Town Hall Meeting with Director Lesa Roe this Thursday, August 10, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the Reid Conference Center."

William G. Bastedo Has Died

William G. Bastedo; Dedicated Life to Space Exploration, Washington Post

"William G. Bastedo, 76, whose family landed on American soil before the Revolutionary War and who spent his life launching the nation into space, died of complications from intestinal surgery Aug. 1 at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville."

Winston Scott's New Job

Editor's note: The following memo announces the hiring of former Director of the Florida Space Authority Winston Scott at ESCG.

From: ESCG - MassMailer
Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 7:28 AM
Subject: Management change

From: Miller, Lon
Management change:
ESCG Employees,

After serving the ESC Group as Deputy General Manager, during a very dynamic period and bringing a great degree of stability to the organization, Larry Bourgeois has decided to retire. Fortunately for the group and for me personally, Larry has agreed to stay with ESC in a part time position, providing leadership in innovations and process improvements. I am grateful to Larry for his support and helping to ease my transition to ESC last Spring as I made my move from Huntsville.

I am pleased to announce that Mr. Winston Scott will join ESC as our new Vice President and Deputy General Manager on September 11th. Winston was most recently the Director of the Florida Space Authority, reporting to the Lt. Governor of Florida. He is a two time shuttle astronaut and naval aviator who holds a Masters degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Winston and his wife Marilyn are both from Florida, growing up in the Miami area, and will make their move to Houston in the next month.

Please join me in wishing Larry the best as he embarks on his retirement while helping us in his part time status. Also, please join me in welcoming Winston to the group.

Lon

Lon F. Miller
Sr. Vice President and General Manager ESC Group
P. O. Box 58447, Houston, TX 77258-8447
2224 Bay Area Blvd, Houston, TX 77058
Office - 281 xxx-xxxx
Cell - 256 xxx-xxxx

Frank Kutyna Has Died

Francis Anthony Kutyna, Glaveston Daily News

"Francis Anthony Kutyna, 64, passed away at his home on July 31, 2006, in Dickinson, Texas. He was born December 27, 1941, to Frank and Isabel Kutyna and was retired from NASA Space Biomedical Research Inst. as a neuroscientist.

A funeral Mass will be held on Friday, August 4, 2006, at 11:30 a.m. at the Shrine of the True Cross, 300 FM East, Dickinson, TX. 77539."

Charles Barnes Has Died

Charles Julian Barnes, Washington Post

"Charles Julian Barnes died on Friday, July 28, 2006 at Prince William Hospital, Manassas, Virginia. Mr. Barnes was a Program Manager for NASA."

Chuck Brady Has Died

Astronaut Brady's Death Stuns Area, The Pilot

"Now the town is puzzled and saddened by reports of the circumstances of his death. According to Chuck McCarty, a dispatcher with the Sheriff's Office in San Juan County, Wash., Brady died of apparently self-inflicted wounds."

Astronaut Charles E. "Chuck" Brady Jr. has died, ARRL

"Retired space shuttle astronaut and DXer Chuck Brady, N4BQW, of Oak Harbor, Washington, died July 23 following a lengthy illness. He was 54."

RIF Threat Fading - Or Just Delayed?

Senate Appropriators De-Fund NASA RIF Plans , IFPTE

"The workforce protection language put forth by Senator Mikulski to defund any layoffs in FY07 is an essential component of the bill's effort to protect NASA's long-term institutional knowledge and capabilities from short-term expedient budget planning. The key to NASA's future success is to retain its current workforce while it recruits and trains the next generation of the best and brightest young scientists and engineers. This will only be possible if the Administration ceases its divisive and counter-productive layoff threats and shows the nation's youth that NASA is a great place for a stable, productive, and exciting career as a scientist or engineer."

The Point Being ...?

Remarks by NASA Administrator Griffin to the NASA Advisory Council Science Subcommittees

"As I have told Charles Elachi, I am sensitive to the impacts to scientists and engineers at JPL who worked on SIM. I have been laid off twice in my career."

What's Good For The Goose ..., earlier post

"Dear Mike: This letter of agreement ("Agreement") serves to acknowledge that your last day of employment at Orbital Sciences Corporation is August 24, 2001."

A Curious Departure

NASA's Assistant Administrator for Equal Opportunity Departing (press release)

NASA's Assistant Administrator for Equal Opportunity Departing (Internal Memo)

"NASA has announced that Dorothy Hayden-Watkins, assistant administrator for Diversity and Equal Opportunity programs, is departing the agency. She served in her position since 2003."

Curious Expulsion at NASA HQ (10 April 2006)

"Editor's note: NASA HQ sources report that Assistant Administrator Diversity and Equal Opportunity Dorothy Hayden-Watkins was escorted out of the building by NASA security personnel late last week."

Dantzler Steps Down at SMD

Editor's 26 June note : Several sources report that Andy Dantzler has resigned his position as Director of the Science Mission Directorate's Solar System Division at NASA HQ. No word as to who will replace him.

Editor's 30 June note : Dantzler is going to APL to become the Program Manager for "Living With A Star".

FY 2007 Budget and RIF Threats

Comments by Rep. Kucinich During Regarding Workforce RIFs During House Debate on NASA FY 2007 Budget

"... At the same time, I am concerned with the bedrock of NASA's success, its world class workforce. The 2005 NASA Authorization Bill enacted a moratorium on involuntary reductions in force until March of 2007. In addition, the act required 11.5 months between the submission of a complete workforce plan and the end of a ban on RIFs. However, NASA has thus far been unable to determine their existing skills mix and future skills mix demand. Any hasty action would cause NASA to lose irreplaceable intellectual capacity and institutional memory and would harm its recruiting capabilities."

Letter from IFPTE President to Rep. Wolf Regarding NASA's FY 2007 Budget

"The proposed Appropriations language expressing concern with uncovered capacity and urging a correction (p. 95) should therefore be removed as it invites NASA to begin laying off its civil-service experts in Fiscal Year 2007 based on overtly flawed data. Make no mistake about it, whether intentional or not, if this language is permitted to remain in this bill, it would give the green light for NASA to start RIFs, thereby undermining the technical excellence and independence of NASA’s workforce for years to come."

House Appropriation Bill is Bad for NASA and the Nation, IFPTE

Statement by Gregory Junemann - Hearing: Does NASA Have the Right Strategy and Policies to Retain and Build the Workforce It will Need?, IFPTE

NAS Workforce Report Issued

Issues Affecting the Future of the U.S. Space Science and Engineering Workforce: Interim Report, NAS

"The report presents a summary of highlights of a January 2006 workshop and a February 2006 committee meeting on the future of the U.S. aerospace space science and engineering workforce, and it provides some preliminary findings with respect to (1) current and projected characteristics of the workforce, (2) factors that impact the demographics of the affected workforces, and (3) NASA's list of the workforce skills that will be needed to implement the nation's vision for space exploration, both within the government and in industry. The report also presents initial recommendations that stem from these findings and initial conclusions."

Camarda Out - Altemus In as JSC's Director of Engineering

Reader note: "Astronaut Charlie Camarda has been replaced as Director of Engineering at JSC by Steve Altemus. This happened rather suddenly. No reason for this change has been provided - officially."

Editor's note: The following email was sent by Camarda to a large distribution list: [excerpt]:"I cannot accept the methods I believe are being used by this Center to select future leaders. I have always based my decisions on facts, data and good solid analysis. I cannot be a party to rumor, inuendo, gossip and/or manipulation to make or break someone's career and/or good name."

From: Camarda, Charles J. (JSC-EA)
Sent: Monday, June 26, 2006 11:35 AM
To: Altemus, Stephen J. (JSC-EA) [long list deleted]
Subject: My Parting Words to the Organization I am Honored to Have Had the Opportunity to Lead

Team,

I want you all to know how proud I am of the efforts you have made to ensure a safe return to flight for STS-121. I am most proud of the way I can count on you to do and say the right thing and stand up and be counted. I have witnessed it daily as your Director and I know this first hand after serving as a crewmember on STS-114. My wife Melinda and my family were confident knowing my safety was in your hands (she had a speed dial list with all the key engineer's phone numbers). I was most proud at all the PRCBs and at the recent FRR when you stood up and presented your dissenting opinions and your exceptions/constraints for flight. I believe we have come a long way in a very short time and I truly believe you will become the jewel in the Exploration crown for this Agency.

I cannot accept the methods I believe are being used by this Center to select future leaders. I have always based my decisions on facts, data and good solid analysis. I cannot be a party to rumor, inuendo, gossip and/or manipulation to make or break someone's career and/or good name. I refused to abandon my position on the MMT and asked that if I would not be allowed to work this mission that I would have to be fired from my position and I was. I am truly sorry I will not be there with my team after all our hard work. I will be there in spirit and I am only a phone call away if you need me. We have much to do to prepare to support this mission and I am sure you will be the ultimate professionals that I know you are and exemplify the spirit of "teamwork" which will be needed to get the job done. Please do not let this affect your focus at this crucial time! I have been offered a position and will continue to support this Agency which I love and be a good team member. Thank you and God Bless you all,

Charlie

Please forward this note to all EA employees.

Reader note: "Mr. Camarda was not fired as a civil servant, but reassigned to the NESC (NASA Executive Safety Council). His comment likely reflects his opinion that he was "fired" from his influential position as Director of Engineering at JSC. His reassignment was announced this afternoon in a formal JSC Announcement that failed to mention either his tenure as Director of Engineering at JSC or the position he would hold at Langley Research Center. Steve Altemus, Deputy Director of Engineering, whose going-away party was abruptly cancelled on Friday, was made Director of Engineering in another JSC Announcement today. He'd been selected to be KSC's Director of Engineering until today. Charlie Camarda was on the job as of 9:30 this morning, so it was shockingly sudden, which by itself creates consternation."

Reader note: "This is so typical of NASA. I worked at JSC for 6 years as a contractor and was laid off last December. I had the pleasure of interfacing with Charlie on several occasions. He was a competent, no nonsense engineer. When he was promoted to the EA chief most of us had hope that EA would get better. Even after I was laid off I still felt that Charlie might turn it around. But the incompetent bureaucrats that reported to him were probably his downfall. With the CEV contract award coming up in August or September, I was thinking about trying to get a job with Lockheed or Boeing. But Charlie being "fired" has killed my interest. Working for the Chinese would probably be more pleasant."

Reader note: "What kind of leadership gets rid of the director of Engineering days before a launch? In particular a person that has vast proven practical knowledge of the technical issues that the next shuttle flight will have to deal with? Couldn't such leadership wait until STS-121 wheels stop?? Typical JSC strategy, either you are with them or against them. People get railroaded, become a pariah, and everyone is afraid of being next. At least Charlie refused to be part of such culture and now he pays the price. This a dark day at NASA"

Strike at MDA

- Professional Association at MDA Brampton (SPATEA) Statement Regarding Current Labour Dispute
- Withdrawal Of Engineering Services at Brampton Operations at MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
- "Houston, we have a problem....", Strike Blog (this has been pulled offline)

Reader note: Engineers at MDA who built, maintain, and provide flight support to the Shuttle arm are on strike as of 21 June.

A Curious Omission

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's Jim Snoddy recognized as Engineer of the Year, Marshall Star

"Jim Snoddy, manager of the upper stage engine in NASA's Exploration Launch Projects Office at the Marshall Center, has been named "Aerospace Engineer of the Year" by the Alabama-Mississippi section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics."

NASA Report: Overview of the DART Mishap Investigation Results - For Public Release

"A rigorous assessment and decision process for managing risk includes ongoing evaluation of NASA's priorities. In DART's case, the lack of adequate risk management contributed to a zero- fault tolerant design and inadequate testing that resulted in an insufficient collision avoidance system, among other things."

Editor's note: Nowhere in the Marshall Star article is mention made of the fact that Jim Snoddy was also DART Project Manager. Gee, I wonder why?

What's Good For The Goose ...

Editor's note: As talk of possible layoffs and RIFs at NASA continues to be heard, it might be instructive to look at this letter which is online at Onecle as an example of a business contract. Will NASA employees get an offer such as this?

August 22, 2001

Dr. Michael D. Griffin

Dear Mike:

This letter of agreement ("Agreement") serves to acknowledge that your last day of employment at Orbital Sciences Corporation is August 24, 2001. You will be eligible for severance benefits, conditional upon your signing this Agreement. The following information relates to your pay, benefits, and other employment-related issues:

Arrangements for Mike Dornheim

Note from Aviation Week: "Mike Dornheim, senior engineering editor and Los Angeles bureau chief for Aviation Week & Space Technology who died in a June 3 car accident in the Santa Monica Mountains near Malibu Calif. will be buried in a graveside service attended by only close family and friends June 24 near Washington D.C."

"The Dornheim family requests that in lieu of flowers, please make a donation your favorite charity in Mike's name, or to Doctors Without Borders http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/donate/.

A tribute to Mike is being planned for a location near Los Angeles International Airport for either July 15 or July 21. Further plans will be announced.

Please send any cards and letters that you would like Mike's parents Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Dornheim and his brother Dan to receive to: Jim Asker, Aviation Week's managing editor at Aviation Week's Washington Bureau, Suite 922, 1200 G St. NW, Washington D. C. 20005. Jim will transfer these messages to the Dornheim family.

Thanks to all."

Workforce Update

NASA's Workforce Challenges to Be Exammined at House Science Committee Hearing

Editor's note: According to testimony given by Toni Dawsey, NASA Assistant Administrator for Human Capital Management, training NASA employees to perform new tasks is called "reskilling".

Statement by Rep. Ken Calvert
Statement by Rep. Mark Udall
Statement by David Black
Statement by John Douglass
Statement by Gregory Junemann
Statement by Toni Dawsey

NASA Workforce Update

NASA execs downplay effect on jobs of new vehicle work, Crain's Cleveland Business

"There's little doubt the decision to award NASA Glenn Research Center in Brook Park with substantial work on the space shuttle's replacement vehicle goes a long way in securing the center's future. But if Northeast Ohioans are expecting Glenn's work on the crew exploration vehicle to bring a bonanza of high-paying jobs and an economic boost to the region, they may be in for a rude awakening."

Cuts at NASA lead to 20-30 layoffs at USU, Deseret Morning News

"Cuts in NASA's science budget are causing pain in Utah: 20 to 30 employees of Utah State University's Space Dynamics Laboratory will lose their jobs in July, and more layoffs are possible by next year."

Workforce Update

NRC Report: Issues Affecting the Future of the U.S. Space Science and Engineering Workforce: Interim Report

"Finally, NASA's mono-generational employee age distribution (i.e., having a peak at only a single age; see Chapter 2) is different from the distribution seen for the DOD and industry, both of which were described at the workshop as being either bimodal or more nearly like the distribution of the U.S. workforce as a whole. However, so far NASA has only begun to examine skill distribution and is becoming aware that it has an age distribution problem, but the committee saw no indication that the agency has begun to act on this concern."

Additional Passings

W.B. Huston, NASA physicist, 93, Arizona Republic

"Wilber B. Huston, a NASA physicist whose career in science was spurred by Thomas Edison, died May 25 in Fountain Hills. He was 93. In 1929, Huston was about to graduate from high school when inventor Edison announced that he would search the nation for a boy who could have a promising career in science."

Biker hits deer, van runs over biker, Daytona Beach News-Journal

"[Jimmy] Proffitt, 46, of Edgewater, was pronounced dead near his wrecked motorcycle after the unusual accident about 6 a.m. just south of Payless Drive in Oak Hill. ... Tuesday's accident was not Proffitt's first encounter with wildlife on his motorcycle. He once hit a wild hog while riding along State Road 3 in the Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge, the route he regularly took to work at the Kennedy Space Center."

AIAA Mourns The Loss of Past President Holt Ashley

"Holt Ashley, professor emeritus, Stanford University, and past president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) died of natural causes May 9, 2006."

Yoram Kaufman Has Died

Internal NASA memo: "After several days of progress, Yoram took a serious turn for the worse yesterday.  We have received the sad news that as of last night, he is showing no signs of brain activity and the family has given the direction not to resuscitate.

Because the drugs given to treat the brain injury alter brain functions, the process of withdrawing medications and various types of support to verify that he is in fact gone takes quite a bit of time and the final results may not be known until tonight or tomorrow.  Family and friends frequently update the status at http://yoramstatus.blogspot.com/ We will keep you posted as soon as we know the final outcome, probably using email since we don't expect to hear much until tonight.  Any arrangements for services will also be posted on the site above."

Subject: Memorial Celebration for Yoram Kaufman
From:
Date: Wed, May 31, 2006 10:19 pm
To:

My apology for posting to lists so that you may receive duplicates.

Subject: Memorial Celebration for Yoram Kaufman

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We are sad to share the news that, as you may have already heard, on Friday, May 26, Yoram Kaufman was struck by a car while riding his bicycle along Soil Conservation Road beside NASA's Goddard campus. Yoram suffered severe head injuries in the accident. We were hopeful through the weekend that Yoram would pull through, but on Tuesday evening, May 30, the doctors determined that his brain is no longer active. More details about the accident and Yoram's condition can be found on the family's blog site, at http://yoramstatus.blogspot.com.

You are invited to join with the Kaufman family, and Yoram's NASA family, for a memorial gathering to be held on Sunday, June 4, from 1-4 p.m. EDT in the Building 8 Auditorium of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. Please note that the purpose of our gathering is to celebrate Yoram's remarkable life. As you know, Yoram brought exuberance and passion to everything he did, in both his personal life and his scientific research. He touched and inspired us all in ways that were uniquely his. In remembrance of him, we are asking you to join with us on Sunday for a time in which, together, we can recall and rejoice over the wonderful times we shared with Yoram.

Please note that GSFC Security is making a special allowance for all visitors who wish to come on-site and attend the Memorial Celebration. All adults guests are asked to **please be sure to bring a photo identification (either a valid passport of drivers license).** All guests are required to enter through the GSFC Main Gate, off of Greenbelt Road (Route 193). For driving directions, please see http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/about/maps.html.

At the Memorial Celebration, some participants will be invited to speak briefly, to share some story or anecdote about Yoram. If you cannot make the trip to be here in person, you are invited to e-mail a story or sentiment about Yoram. Also, if you have photographs of Yoram you wish to share, please be encouraged to send them with your letter. Incoming letters and photos will be collected and given to the Kaufman family. Please note that, if there is time, excerpts from some of the letters may be read aloud during the memorial. (Please indicate if you would prefer your letter to remain private for the family only.)

Please send your letter and/or photos to David Herring (at dherring at climate.gsfc.nasa.gov, who will serve as the collection point.

Sincerely,

Laurie Leshin
Franco Einaudi
Michael King
Bill Lau
Robert Cahalan

Griffin Warns JPL About Trying to Grow Its Workforce

NASA Administrator Griffin Vists Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Sees Stable Future

"In the future he expects JPL to continue to attract new business by competing for missions, but, "If I think JPL is in danger of falling below having the right amount of work to cover the JPL staff, then I will do as I have done at other places – I will find you a mission. If you can win enough to keep up the level you're at, you don't need me to do anything." However, he discouraged JPLers from going after major new work that would drive the lab's workforce beyond the current level. "If you kill more than you can eat, I'll probably ask you to send some of that somewhere else."

Empty AA Slot Filled at HQ

NASA Names Scales Associate Administrator for Institutions and Management

"NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale announced Monday Charles H. Scales as the new associate administrator for the Office of Institutions and Management."

Kathryn Sullivan Joins National Science Board

National Science Board Elects Physician and Former Astronaut to be New Officers, NSF

"At its May 10 meeting, the National Science Board (NSB) elected Steven C. Beering to serve as chair and Kathryn D. Sullivan to serve as vice chair. The new officers replace outgoing chair Warren M. Washington and vice chair Diana S. Natalico."

NASA CIO Leaving

NASA's Chief Information Officer Announces Plans to Step Down

"NASA's Chief Information Officer, Patricia L. Dunnington, announced Tuesday, May 9, she is stepping down from that position at NASA Headquarters. Here is a portion of her announcement: "It has been my honor and privilege to serve as the NASA Chief Information Officer. Over these past three years, we have realized significant accomplishments that benefit both NASA's mission and management functions."

NASA Needs New Blood

Report: NASA in need of new blood, AP

"NASA's work force is graying and the agency lacks a long-term plan for luring qualified workers to help send astronauts to the moon and Mars, a National Research Council report says."

Joe Davis is Leaving NASA

NASA's Chief of Strategic Communications Leaves for Private Sector

"NASA announced Wednesday that Joe Davis, chief of strategic communications, is leaving the agency to take a position with a private sector public affairs firm. Davis served on the senior management team for NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, overseeing the offices of legislative, public, external affairs and education."

Jim Kennedy Is Retiring

NASA KSC Director Announces Retirement

"James W. Kennedy, the eighth director in the history of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, today announced his intention to retire in January 2007 after 35 years of government service. Kennedy spent 31 of those years with NASA and four with the U.S. Air Force. Kennedy's successor will be announced at a later date."

Reader note: "Eight months of a lame duck? That doesn't compute in any management system I know of."

GRC All Hands Fiasco

Editor's note: The right thing to do after yesterday's all hands fiasco at GRC would be to air a video of the presentation by GRC Director Woodrow Whitlow. That will apparently happen today on GRC TV on Channel 13 and Wednesday at 10:00 am, 2:00 pm, and 4:00 pm. A well thought out white paper and accompanying charts would be useful for the vast majority of GRC employees who were not able to hear about the reorganization plan. Whitlow's charts from yesterday have now been posted on the internal GRC website.

As is the case with most NASA Powerpoint presentations these charts are sloppily prepared - and the new management structure is shown with charts that say "Draft". This presentation was apparently created by Whitlow himself since it was created on 21 April 2006 and says "last saved whitlw".

Right now, the net result of this botched attempt by Whitlow to communicate with his workforce is that the majority of GRC employees have only word of mouth or these sloppy charts as their guide to how GRC is being reorganized. Playing the video will help - but someone should have stopped to think this out such that hundreds of people weren't wandering around GRC yesterday.

Once again, Woodrow Whitlow owes his entire workforce an apology.

GRC Reorg Announced (sort of)

Reader note: "GRC voice mail announced today that Center Director Woodrow Whitlow will announce a GRC reorganization in an all-hands meeting on Monday, May 1 at 1:00 PM EDT."

GRC Reader note: "Just an update on today's scheduled briefing at GRC. Unbelievable lack of planning for such a critical announcement. Briefing was scheduled for 1:00 to 1:30 in Bldg. 500 auditorium which has a seating capacity of about 500. Depending on which media reports you read, the lab has around 3,000 combined CS and contractor employees.

No arrangements were made for overflow seating or broadcasting. Streams of people started walking over to Bldg. 500 around 12:30, and extra bus capacity was operating. I started walking over around 10 till 1, and ran into a large group turned away due to lack of space. As I was walking back, I saw more people walking over, *and* the extra buses were still running even though there was no place to hear the briefing!

Lots of taxpayer dollars tied up between those spending time to get over early enough to get a seat in the only place to see the briefing, those extra buses, and those who had to go back. And we still don't know what was said!"

Editor's update: C'mon Woodrow - this has to be the most inept attempt at communicating vital information to NASA employees I've heard of in a long time. You owe your people an apology.

Eileen Collins is leaving NASA

NASA Astronaut Eileen Collins Completes Career of Space Firsts

"Astronaut Eileen Collins is leaving NASA. Collins was the first woman to command a space shuttle and the leader of Discovery's Return to Flight mission last year. She plans to pursue private interests and spend more time with family."

Its Not Too Late to Quit

NASA LaRC Internal Memo: Early Out Authority

"Voluntary early retirement ("early out") authority was approved for Langley in connection with the FY 06 buyout. When our buyout window closed on January 3, 2006, our authority to offer early out retirements expired as well. Recently, however, NASA HQ informed Centers that early out authority would be available though the end of this FY. Langley requested early out authority from May 1, 2006 through September 30, 2006 and our request was approved."

IFPTE Expresses Concerns to Congress

IFPTE Urges Congress to Save NASA Science and Aeronautics

"In particular, the union took issue with NASA's proposed shortfalls in the Aeronautics and the Science funding, as well as NASA's failure to provide a Workforce Strategy with sufficient content to justify the continued planning for a Reduction-in-Force (RIF) next year."

Pete Worden is the New ARC Center Director

NASA Names Pete Worden To Be New Ames Research Center Director

"NASA Administrator Michael Griffin announced Friday that Simon P. "Pete" Worden will be the next director of NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffet Field, Calif. Worden, a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, is a research professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona, Tucson."

Editor's earlier note: The paperwork is complete - Pete Worden (USAF Bio) will be the next Center Director at ARC. A formal announcement is expected very soon.

Scott Hubbard to Depart ARC - Pete Worden to Take Over, 15 December 2005 post

Eberhardt Rechtin Has Died

Space trailblazer Rechtin dies, Pasadena Star News

"Eberhardt Rechtin, a pioneer in deep space research and former assistant director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, died Friday after a long illness. He was 80."

ESMD Personnel Change

Editor's note: Word has it that Michael Hecker, Constellation Systems Division's Program Executive at NASA ESMD, is leaving.

Personnel Layoff Update

NASA Glenn budget leaves workers vulnerable, Cleveland Plain Dealer

"NASA Glenn Research Center's budget can't cover the work of almost 270 workers, about one-sixth of the full-time employees at the center. "We've been sitting around for six months with nothing to do - nothing that's funded," says Sheila Bailey, a 20-year veteran at the center who has a doctorate and works with solar cells for space power applications."

Curious Expulsion at NASA HQ

Editor's note: NASA HQ sources report that Assistant Administrator Diversity and Equal Opportunity Dorothy Hayden-Watkins was escorted out of the building by NASA security personnel late last week. No reason has been given. I have submitted a formal request to NASA PAO for comment.

Editor's update: According to Dean Acosta at PAO "As per NASA policy, we do not comment on personnel matters."

Hazardous Duty

NASA KSC Solicitation: Emergency Medical Evacuation Services

"Provider should have proven capability of patient extraction from remote locations. Recent NASA employee evacuations have been from The Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan."

IFPTE Submits NASA Workforce Response

IFPTE Submits NASA Workforce Response - Flawed Proposal Threatens NASA's Technical Excellence and Independence

"Noting that the workforce plan provided to Congress and the union, as was stipulated in S. 1281, failed to meet the requirements set our in the law, IFPTE nonetheless offered their provisional views on the limited details outlined in NASA's plan. Among the chief concerns outlined in the union's report were the Agency's reliance on full-cost accounting, term employees, and a flawed & incomplete competency management system."

- IFPTE Comments on NASA Management's Draft Workforce Strategy

- NASA Workforce Strategy (Draft) 6 February 2006

This Is Just So Damn Sad

Father of NASA astronaut 'a very warm, loving, caring man,' son says, Star-Gazette

Rochester man dies in car-pedestrian accident - Police say victim is Eileen Collins' father, Star-Gazette

"The man has been identified as 79-year-old James E. Collins of Rochester, father of space shuttle commander Eileen Collins. Jim Collins was in Elmira on Monday to hear his daughter speak at Edison and Notre Dame high schools. He spoke to a Star-Gazette reporter about his daughter's accomplishments on Monday after hearing her speak at Notre Dame. "I'm in awe of her," he said. "I really am."

Future of space flight lies with youths - Collins challenges students to envision the future, Star-Gazette

Sy Rubenstein Has Died

Biography, Return to Flight Task Group

Editor's note: According to an email from his family "At 2:15am on Sunday February 26, 2006 Seymour Rubenstein passed away peacefully. Sy was surrounded throughout the day on Saturday by close family members and friends."

Details follow below:

"Subject: Funeral arrangements for Seymour Rubenstein: I am forwarding on information regarding my father's services and apologize if you've already received this information.  Please email me at marlaellen@aol.com if you did not receive this through a prior group email and I will add your name to the group list. Sincerely, Marla Stasik (Sy's daughter).

At 2:15am on Sunday February 26, 2006 Seymour Rubenstein passed away peacefully. Sy was surrounded throughout the day on Saturday by close family members and friends.

It is our sincerest hope that you will be able to join us as Sy is laid to rest on Wednesday March 1, 2006 at 2:30pm

Pacific View Memorial Park
3500 Pacific View Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92625
(949) 644-2700

A reception and memorial service will follow the funeral service. The location and directions to the memorial service will be available on Wednesday.

Please pass this notice on to all of Sy’s friends who may not have received this notice or the past few updates.

Driving Directions to Pacific View:

From the North: Take the San Diego Fwy (405) south to the San Joaquin Toll Road (#73).  Exit right.  Proceed southeasterly to MacArthur Blvd. exit.  Continue to San Joaquin Hills Road.  Turn left and proceed 3 blocks to Marguerite Ave.  Turn left.  Continue to end of street.  Turn right on Pacific View Drive and proceed into Pacific View Memorial Park

In lieu of flowers it is customary in the Jewish tradition to make a contribution, or tzedakah in memory of the passing of a loved one. A donation to any of the following four charities that hold a special place in Sy’s heart would be accepted with gratitude:

Simon Wiesenthal Center www.museumoftolerance.com click on Tribute

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum  www.ushmm.org click on Join & Donate

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network www.pancan.org click on Donate

Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. www.lupus.org click on Donate Now

  If you would like to send a Tribute Card please send it to:

Sheila Rubenstein
24431 S. Rocky Brook Drive
Sun Lakes, AZ 85248  With all our love and appreciation for your thoughts and well wishes,

Sheila, Marc, Julie, Wesley, Alyssa, Marla, Paul, Craig and Rey"

Farewell, Scott Cartoon Style

Editor's note: For many years, retiring at Ames often resulted in a special cartoon by Roger Arno - one which includes a fair likeness of the departing employee - plus intricate puns, pokes, and prods at that person and their career - the challenges they faced, and the successes they helped to achieve. Some of the puns are exceptionally insider in nature and riddled with acronyms. However, if you are in the know, they can be rather hilarious. Scott Hubbard did not manage to escape Roger’s pen. Hubbard has accepted the Carl Sagan Chair at the SETI Institute and another position at Stanford University. Click on the image to enlarge - and be certain to cast your gaze to the door on the left hand side of the image.

Roger Mellot Memorial Information

Reader note: "Roger Mellott's services were held yesterday (Sunday Feb 12, 2006)  at his home in Covington Louisiana.  Tip Talone, Roselle Hanson, Cheryl McPhillips, and myself were in attendance from the Kennedy Space Center.  Kent Rominger, the Chief, Astronaut Office at Johnson Space Center presented Roger's wife Catherine a flag that was flow at half-staff  over JSC in memory of Roger.

Also on behalf of all of NASA Roger was awarded a Distinguished Public Service Medal which is the highest honor NASA awards to anyone who was not a Government employee. The award is granted only to individuals whose distinguished accomplishments contributed substantially to the NASA mission. Representatives from KSC, JSC,  MSFC, Stennis, and NASA HQ were all in attendance.

For those of you who shared your thoughts about Roger - I passed those on the Catherine and she was extremely thankful for the thoughtfulness and the memories.

We invited Catherine and Roger's children to KSC and to the upcoming Shuttle launch so in the future Roger's family can meet many of the people here at KSC who Roger touched.

Thank you for your kind words and thoughts. 

Russell"

Reader earlier note: "In lieu of flowers, people can contribute to the Roger Mellott Memorial Fund which will be used for Roger's family, including his college bound children and his infirm brother."

"Also, the service will be held at Roger's house (72322 Ingram St. Covington, LA 70435) at 1:00pm on Sunday. Anyone who would like to speak will be given the opportunity to do so. We would also like people to call the house if they'd like. The number is 985-893-0798 and they would appreciate hearing from anyone who wants to call. Also, there will be a good old New Orleans party to celebrate Roger's life Saturday night starting at 9pm at his house. Anyone and everyone is invited and we ask people to bring their best ROGER stories - this is what he would have wanted!" -- Paul Pastorek.

Reader note: "Friends: I spoke to Roger's wife, Catherine, late this evening and she tentatively plans to have a service on Sunday afternoon at Roger's home in Covington, LA (north of New Orleans).  She asked me to pass this on.  She also asked me to acknowledge the warm outpouring that she has received from the NASA family and Roger's friends.

As you all know, Roger was extremely dedicated to NASA and the success of its mission, particularly Human Space Flight and the personal success of the members of the NASA family.

The only contingency is having his body returned from the Cape to New Orleans.  We expect that to happen as early as Thursday, but no later than Friday, which would allow the Sunday plan to proceed.  There will be a private viewing at a time yet to be determined.  He will be cremated as was his wish and an ecumenical service will take place on Sunday.  Unfortunately, due to Katrina, there is very limited hotel space in Covington, but there is hotel space in New Orleans, particularly near the airport.  There is also hotel space in Hammond, LA, which is not far from Covington.

I will circulate more details as soon as things firm up.

Please pass the word to Roger's friends, particularly Russell Romanella at KSC, who has been so gracious and kind to Catherine.

-- Paul Pastorek"

Reader's note: "There are many people here at the Kennedy Space Center who consider Roger a wise counsel, a speaker of truth and a friend and advocate of NASA. His surprise passing is difficult and shocking to accept. The insight and pragmatic consideration Roger taught concerning culture and the human element will be a legacy many will be blessed to apply throughout their careers and lives.

For some, Roger was a singularly blessed gift in the form of a caring, insightful and truthful guide along the road of life. His assistance and counsel has made the difference between ruin and future for some people dealing with difficult and dangerous personal challenges arising in a NASA that is working to live up to its roots, potential and aspirations.

Independent of his frailties (a consequence of his humanity), he had the gift to speak the truth in ways that most could hear, understand and believe. A belief that they could act upon themselves and be better people and bring about a better NASA.

Roger will be missed in the most personal sense and leaves a permanent void in the heart."

NASA Presolicitation Notice: Organizational Services, Facilitation, and Senior Executive Coaching

"Mr. Mellot has been working with JSC Senior Managers to identify, document, and assess JSC's organization culture, future changes in the JSC Program offices and ways to capitalize on benefits of the changing environment here at JSC in an effort to enhance JSC mangers ability to adapt to change and achieve NASA's mission."

Editor's note: Roger Mellot passed away in his sleep last night in Cape Canaveral. I will post more details when I learn more.

John Hillman Has Died

John Hillman; Astrophysicist and Flag Preserver (obituary), Washington Post

"John J. Hillman, 67, a NASA astrophysicist who did work on the atmospheres of planets, the composition of comets and the preservation of the Star-Spangled Banner, died of ocular melanoma Feb. 12 at his home in Columbia."

Hubbard Career Update

Outgoing NASA Ames director to be Stanford scholar, SJ Mercury News

"Stanford University announced today that former NASA Ames Research Center Director G. Scott Hubbard has accepted a visiting scholar appointment in the university's electrical engineering department."

A Tragic Death

Crash kills cyclist on training ride, Houston Chronicle

"A 39-year-old NASA engineer was killed Saturday while leading members of the Pearland Cycling Club on a training ride for the MS 150 charity fundraiser. Aerospace engineer Tony Dao was involved in a collision with a Chevrolet Trailblazer while riding eastbound on County Road 190 near Alvin."

Editor's note: You can visit this site to make a donation to the Tony Dao Memorial Fund

JPL Personnel Update

Reader note: "In his "All Hands" meeting today, Dr. Elachi told us that the number of employees had declined from 5,400 to 4,975 as a result of the RIF. There was no mention of the contractor workforce numbers, or whether or not any contractors were included in the 4,975. He stated his intention to keep employment at approximately 5,000."

Workforce Impacts of FY 2007 Budget

NASA Glenn to lose 300 jobs by the end of 2007, Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Glenn's work force, packed with highly educated scientists and engineers, would slip to about 1,700 by the end of this year and to 1,562 by the end of 2007, NASA Glenn's new director Woodrow Whitlow said."

Ames faces more deep cuts, SJ Mercury News

"It was not clear what the cuts might mean in terms of jobs. Since 2004, the center has seen its budget drop from more than $800 million to $603 million, and its workforce shrink by nearly a third to 2,100."

Michoud's orders fewer, but enough to avoid cuts, Times Picayune

"NASA's spacecraft plant in eastern New Orleans will build 17 more fuel tanks for the space shuttle, fewer than half the number that had been planned prior to the Columbia shuttle accident -- but still enough to keep the factory's 2,000 workers busy for several more years."

Budget, job news better than last year's, Daily News

"NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, one of the region's major employers, will keep its work-force numbers steady despite agency plans to cut aeronautics research funding by 18 percent."

Budget plan allays anxiety at Langley, Virginian-Pilot

"Jobs should be stable. The center was able to trim its civil service work force by 300 over the past two years by offering buyout packages and early retirements. It also cut 300 contractors, she said. She is not planning for any layoffs in the next year, and the work force should hold steady at 3,600 – 2,000 civil service workers and 1,600 contractors."

Marshall spared cuts but money still tight, Huntsville Times

"This is a good budget for Marshall. This is a very stable budget and it provides for a very stable work force," King told reporters Monday. "It keeps in place our 2,600 civil servants."

ARC Transtion Update

Newsmakers, Science

"[NASA Administrator] Michael Griffin and I talked before the holidays and agreed that he should have the ability to pick a center director of his own choosing," says Hubbard, whose replacement at Ames will reportedly be astronomer and retired Air Force Brigadier General Simon P. Worden. Wesley Huntress, director of the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C., says that Ames "blossomed" under Hubbard's 3-year directorship: "NASA loses a very good man."

NASA budget emphasizes space exploration, C|Net

"We believe Ames is healthy," Christensen said. "We have direction and momentum...but we're not out of the woods yet. "We've been restructuring our organization to try to align with missions out of NASA, but it's not simple because we have been a research center."

ARC Leadership Transition Underway

NASA ARC Internal Memo: Message from the Director - Transition

"Mr. Marvin "Chris" Christensen will be the Acting Center Director after I leave and has, in fact, begun the transition into this role. One of his first duties will be to lead the budget roll-out activities for Ames. Chris has been supporting me in a number of endeavors vital to the future of the center; he has the confidence of the Administrator, and I know he will lead you ably while the search for the new center director is conducted."

New Deputy Center Director at Langley

NASA Announces That Stephen Jurczyk is the New Langley Research Center Deputy Director

"NASA announced today Stephen Jurczyk is the new Deputy Center Director for the agency's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. Jurczyk was Langley's Director of the Research and Technology Directorate."

Bruce Lundin Has Died

Bruce Lundin, Former NASA Glenn Research Center Director Dies

"Bruce Lundin, Director of NASA's Lewis Research Center from 1969 to 1977, (now the Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, Cleveland), passed away on Tuesday, January 24, 2006. He was 86."

Logan Doane Has Died

From: The Doane Family
Sent: Jan 27, 2006 12:00 AM
Subject: Logan

In case you have not yet heard, yesterday morning (the 25th), Logan completed his final journey.  He truly faced his battle against cancer in a most dignified manner and left us extremely content with the choices he made and the life he led.

I wanted to let you know that a service celebrating his life will be held at the Old School in Waterford, Virginia on Saturday, February 4, at 4:00 pm. In deference to his preferred attire, casual dress is encouraged. Should you so desire, contributions in his memory may be made to the Waterford Foundation, P.O. Box 142, Waterford, Virginia 20197. Please indicate on the memo line: Endowment Fund.

My heart just aches...

With great fondness,

Nancy

After Effects of Hubbard's Departure

NASA's boss at Ames losing job in shakeup, SF Chronicle

"NASA Watch, an online news site that monitors space agency activities, reported Dec. 15 that Griffin plans to replace Hubbard with Worden. On Monday, Hubbard accepted an offer by the SETI Institute in Mountain View, a 120-employee organization that investigates the possibility of extraterrestrial life, to become its Carl Sagan Chair for the Study of Life in the Universe."

Two Center Director Changes

NASA Announces Senior Management Changes

"William (Bill) Parsons, director of the agency's Stennis Space Center, Miss., has accepted the position of deputy center director at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

G. Scott Hubbard, center director at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., has accepte