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NASA photo by Tom Tschida
A mockup of the Orion crew module, part of NASA's Constellation program, which uses the NASA-designed Ares I rocket. Below, Michael and Rebecca Griffin at his 2005 swearing-in ceremony at the White House.

NASA chief's wife to Obama: Don't fire my husband. AP. The tone of this story, set by the headline, bothers me alot. You come into it thinking NASA Administrator Michael Griffin's wife perhaps called Hawaii to beg the president-elect to spare her man. Lots of spouses do it, in big and small ways, it's part of the vows. Whup.

But that's not what reporter Seth Borenstein says is happening:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Late on Christmas Eve, one last wish was sent, by e-mail: Please let NASA Administrator Michael Griffin keep his job. It was from his wife. Rebecca Griffin, who works in marketing, sent her message with the subject line "Campaign for Mike" to friends and family. It asked them to sign an online petition to President-elect Barack Obama "to consider keeping Mike Griffin on as NASA Administrator."

She wrote, "Yes, once again I am embarrassing my husband by reaching out to our friends and 'imposing' on them.... And if this is inappropriate, I'm sorry."

The petition drive, which said the President George W. Bush appointee "has brought a sense of order and purpose to the U.S. space agency," was organized by Scott "Doc" Horowitz of Park City, Utah, an ex-astronaut and former NASA associate administrator.

The whole thing is murky, gossip and buzz strung together and raw, not distilled into Telling the Story to the Reader. Just two paragraphs suggest why drumbeating on Griffin's behalf might be considered necessary:

He's used his scientific smarts in making hands-on crucial decisions about shuttle flights, but he's ruffled feathers with some of his choices involving the design of next-generation spacecraft for a return to the moon. Some engineers both inside and outside of NASA question the whole concept of the new spacecraft, which Griffin calls "Apollo on steroids."

and,

Only a few weeks ago, Griffin had a public disagreement with Obama's NASA transition chief, Lori Garver, a former NASA associate administrator, about the transition team's efforts to get more information. The dispute wasn't too heated and voices weren't raised, said Smithsonian scholar John Logsdon, who was holding a book signing for his latest volume on space history when Griffin and Garver had their spat.

There's much more detail on the politics from Robert Block at the Orlando Sentinel, from Cape Canaveral's lips to his ears (NASA has become a transition problem for Obama), including,

The tensions are due to the fact that NASA's human space flight program is facing its biggest crossroads since the end of the Apollo era in the 1970s. The space shuttle is scheduled to be retired in 2010, and the next-generation Constellation rockets won't fly before 2015.

Nearly four years ago, President Bush brought in Griffin to implement a plan to return astronauts to the moon by 2020 as a prelude to going to Mars. Griffin and his team selected Constellation, with its NASA-designed Ares I rocket and Orion capsule, as cheaper and safer than existing rockets. Constellation - especially Ares 1 -- is the center of what Griffin sees as his legacy to return humans to the frontiers of space.

John Schwartz of The New York Times delivers the grounded story (The Long Countdown: The Fight Over NASA's Future):

The Obama transition team, in meetings and requests for information from NASA, contractors and others with a stake in the process, has asked whether increased financing can narrow the five-year flight gap by speeding development of the new spacecraft. The advisers have also asked what the costs and consequences might be of continuing to fly the shuttles for at least one or two additional flights, or even to keep flying them until the next system is ready.

The team has also asked whether the development program is truly in trouble and, if so, whether the Ares I should be modified or replaced by rockets used by the Air Force to launch satellites, or the Ariane 5 rocket from Europe.

The direction of the space program is -- as always, and as it should be -- under the lens. Not flying only makes sense if we're telepathing, teleporting or are otherwise in contact with alien fleets.

Today, Bloomberg reports, Obama Moves to Counter China in Space With Pentagon-NASA Link:

President-elect Barack Obama will probably tear down long-standing barriers between the U.S.'s civilian and military space programs to speed up a mission to the moon amid the prospect of a new space race with China.

Obama's transition team is considering a collaboration between the Defense Department and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration because military rockets may be cheaper and ready sooner than the space agency's planned launch vehicle, which isn't slated to fly until 2015, according to people who've discussed the idea with the Obama team. ...

 Tags  Obama

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2 Comments

John Sullivan said:

After spending a considerable hour of my time carefully constructing the most profound response I've ever posted, and AFTER I posted it, I was told "too long." Was then asked to go 'back' and shorten it up. When I went 'back' I got a blank screen, which I'll use to express my frustration at the site. Hopefully America's next generation of spacecraft will work better. Thanks for my wasted hour, and for the intellectual void of a world missing my well-researched knowledgeable inside info on this subject. Signed, your best unpaid space expert.

Link | January 3, 2009 11:16 PM
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Sheila said:

I've seen some very long comments, spam or rants, so what you lost must have been substantial.

I hope you accept my invitation to email a version of your comment. I'll find a way to publish it.

Link | January 4, 2009 12:09 AM
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