NASA shake-up leaves space program in confusion

[Eugene]

Source: Quartz

IN-FLIGHT ADJUSTMENT

NASA shake-up leaves space program in confusion

By Tim Fernholz July 11, 2019

The NASA executive in charge of human space exploration has been ousted over disagreements on the space agency’s plans to land an astronaut on the moon by 2024.

President Donald Trump has asked the space agency to put humans back on the moon before the end of his potential second term in office, but neither the White House nor NASA has won congressional support for the plan. Now, the US space program will attempt to find a path forward without its most consistent figure.

Late yesterday, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine re-assigned associated administrator William Gerstenmaier and his deputy Bill Hill to “special advisor” positions, and replaced them with Ken Bowersox, a former astronaut, and Tom Whitmeyer, a long-time NASA employee.

Gerstenmaier had been associate administrator in charge of the human operations and exploration directorate since 2005. In that role, he was responsible for the bulk of NASA’s budget: Overseeing the International Space Station, shuttering the space shuttle program, developing NASA’s new deep space exploration vehicles, and transitioning towards purchasing space transportation from private companies.

Few would have been surprised if Gersteinmaier, 65, had announced retirement plans in the near future, but his sudden demotion shocked space program observers.

-snip-

Read more: https://qz.com/1664077/nasa-fires-top-official-over-moon-2024/

______________________________________________________________________

Source: The Independent

Nasa chief fired as Trump administration vents frustration over moon landing delays

Mike Pence put agency's leaders on notice, saying they would be held accountable if they could not complete mission

Christian Davenport
4 hours ago

The sudden removal of Nasa’s head of human exploration William Gerstenmaier on Wednesday is a clear sign the White House is increasingly frustrated with the agency’s efforts to return humans to the surface of the moon by 2024.

Donald Trump‘s administration is laser-focused on that date, which would come during a second term of his presidency, should he be re-elected.

But despite the mandate, Nasa has continued to struggle with delays and cost overruns that have threatened the programme.

And the ousting of one of the longest-serving stalwarts in the agency shows how far the White House and Nasa’s politically appointed leadership are willing to go towards disrupting Nasa and attempting to break through the bureaucracy many think has stilted its exploration efforts for years.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/nasa-trump-moon-landing-mike-pence-william-gerstenmaier-a9002386.html

[CrispyQ]

1. Seriously? We're going back to the moon?

Maybe those funds would be better spent working on climate change?

[qazplm135]

2. those funds wouldn't make a dent in climate change

space exploration more than pays for itself.

[SCantiGOP]

3. Not sure re-exploration of the moon

makes any sense at all, much less pays for itself.

[qazplm135]

4. absolutely makes sense

It makes sense for future mining of raw materials on the moon.
It makes sense as a future launch point for missions manned and unmanned.
Some of that stuff may take 100 years or more, but you can't start there without starting at the beginning.

[Javaman]

6. this is my simple argument for what you say...

the budget for NASA is: 21.5 billion

the budget for the dept of defense is: 750 billion

what would be better served? exploration or making more weapons?

[CrispyQ]

7. I agree that the disparity in those budgets is obscene.

It's just that we've gone to the moon & maybe we could do something we haven't done before or work on some planetary device to counter climate change. And yes, the military should be forking over a shit ton of their budget for the climate change effort, too. Humanity is so unprepared for what's coming down the pike.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

8. Trump doesn't count the first moon landing because it wasn't "the best landing ever."

Also, he didn't get to put his name on a plaque attached to the lander, the way Nixon did.

[MBS]

5. This is bad news.

Gerstenmeier and Hill are deeply competent and have integrity. I know nothing about their replacements, but the fact that they’re even being replaced seems to me a bad sign.

[FiveGoodMen]

9. Houston, we have a problem

[NNadir]

10. Republicans are now quite open about being troglodytes. Open racism...

...open contempt for scientists and engineers.

[Everyman Jackal]

11. Trump was told we need to go to the moon first to see what problems accur over a long period of time

and then to Mars. Wouldn't it be cheaper to just show him movies like The Martian?