NASA's Scott Horowitz resigning 2spend more time steering his family's money toward Northrop Grumman

[Ian David]

NASA's Exploration Chief to Step Down for Family
By Tariq Malik
Staff Writer
posted: 13 July 2007
5:30 p.m. ET

Scott "Doc" Horowitz, head of NASA's effort to replace the space shuttle and return astronauts to the Moon, is stepping down to spend more time with his family, he said Friday.

Horowitz said he will leave his post as NASA's associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Directorate, which he's held since 2005, on Oct. 1 to devote more time to his wife Lisa and three children.

"It's taken a tremendous toll on my family, and I really do need to put some energy and effort into that," Horowitz said of his wife, 11-year-old daughter and four-year-old fraternal twins during a teleconference with reporters. "To be able to do all the exciting and fun things I've gotten to do, they've taken kind of a back seat for quite a while, and the last two years are no exception."

Horowitz informed coworkers of his resignation plan on Wednesday, the same day that NASA associate administrator Rex Geveden -- the agency's third-highest ranking official -- announced his intent to leave his own post to serve as president of the Huntsville, Alabama firm Teledyne Engineering. NASA's current chief engineer Chris Scolese will succeed Geveden, though a successor has not yet been named to replace Horowitz.

More:
http://www.space.com/news/070713_nasa_horowitz_updt.html



See also:

This is the reason why the new proposed CEV looks the way it is.

http://www.spacepolitics.com/archives/000629.html

ATK, which arguably has the most to gain or lose on NASA's pending decision for new crew and cargo launch vehicles, has enlisted a number of former astronauts as lobbyists. Six former astronauts--Daniel Barry, John Blaha, Charles Bolden, Daniel Bursch, Franklin Chang-Diaz, and Thomas Jones--have registered as lobbyists representing the company. Another former astronaut, Scott Horowitz, already works for ATK; he was pushing for a SRB-derived CEV launch vehicle even before he left NASA last year.

More:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/17/141454/179



CEV LOX/Methane Update: Is It In - Or Is It Out?

Editor's note: See update below.

NASA GRC Award: Cryogenic Oxygen/Methane Reaction Control System (RCS) Engine Assembly (Northrop Grumman)
NASA GRC Award: Cryogenic Oxygen/Methane Reaction Control System (RCS) Engine Assembly (Aerojet)

Editor's note: I'm confused. Just last week, on 6 February 2006, ESMD AA Scott Horowitz was at the FY 2007 budget press conference. At that event he talked about the decision to move away from LOX/Methane systems for the CEV (see transcript below). Now GRC awards $14 million of work on the same type of system for the CEV - one award to Aerojet for $6,270,479 and another to Northrop Grumman for $7,802,351. That's a lot of money to study something that has been "deferred" (as are all those space science missions).

"HOROWITZ: The question is about the use of LOX/methane on the CEV. As you know, we started in different design cycles. We've got an architecture define based on the ESAS results, and the recommendation out of there was LOX/methane for the CEV."

"As we went through the next design, announced the cycle, and there'll be several design analysis cycles as we go through this program, it's a very big complicated program, what we realized, without getting into all the technical difficulties, is that some a the benefits in the near term for LOX/methane, especially when we looked at the ascent module coming from the moon, back off the moon, that the gain was probably not worth the investment at this time.

LOX/methane is still part of our research development program and we're still very interested in it because it is most likely the key to getting on to Mars, which of course we're interested in the long term.

More:
http://www.nasawatch.com/archives/2006/02/


Good luck to Mr. Horowitz in his future Endeavours

NASA Goofs on Space Shuttle Banner
NASA Fails in Endeavor to Spell Space Shuttle's Name Right on Banner



More:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3378157

[Alexander]

1. His number wasn't on the madam's list, was it?

[Ian David]

3. Maybe he knows something WE don't?

99942 Apophis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

99942 Apophis (previously known by its provisional designation 2004 MN4) is a near-Earth asteroid that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 because initial observations indicated a relatively large probability that it would strike the Earth in 2029. Additional observations provided improved predictions that eliminated the possibility of an impact on Earth or the Moon in 2029. However there remained a possibility that during the 2029 close encounter with Earth, Apophis would pass through a "gravitational keyhole", a precise region in space no more than about 400 meters across, that would set up a future impact on April 13, 2036. This possibility kept the asteroid at Level 1 on the Torino impact hazard scale until August 2006. It broke the record for the highest level on the Torino Scale, being, for only a short time, a level 4, before it was lowered.

Additional observations of the trajectory of Apophis revealed the "keyhole" would likely be missed and on August 5, 2006, Apophis was lowered to a Level 0 on the Torino Scale. As of October 19, 2006 the impact probability for April 13, 2036 is estimated at 1 in 45,000. An additional impact date in 2037 has been identified, however the impact probability for that encounter is 1 in 12.3 million.

Despite the fact that there is no longer any significant probability of an Earth impact, the Planetary Society is offering a $50,000 prize for the best plan to put a tracking device on or near the asteroid.<1>

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942_Apophis

[Aviation Pro]

2. "Put more time and energy into that?"....

...real articulate this one.

[napi21]

4. Damn! With all these Gov't people quittng, the damn unemployment

rate is gonna go up!!!

Did you notice, we keep hearing about all these different people leaving, but just a FEW being hired? The vacancy rate must be amazing!