Minutes of Senior Staff and Center Directors’ Meeting 26 Feb 2001
The following documents the discussions addressed at the Senior Staff and
Center Directors’ Meeting on February 26, 2001. Mr. Goldin attended the
meeting. Action assignments have been placed in brackets [ ] for easy
identification.
1. AA Reports
L/Kerwin: The budget roll-out will begin Wednesday. Also taking place
this week will be the Space Launch Initiative Down-Select roll-out.
B/Peterson: The President’s Budget Blueprint will be released February
28, 2001.
I/Schumacher: Crew operations panel meetings will be held at JSC this
week.
P/Cleggett: Briefings on Space Shuttle Mission STS-102 will be held on
February 28, 2001. She also noted that each Enterprise should provide
Code P with a point of contact for the press for any questions related to
the Budget Blueprint.
2. AI/Dr. Mulville
(1) The Senior Management Council
Meeting for March 9 has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 29. The
agenda will be released at a later date.
2) On March 1, a Non-Advocate Review on IS and a Special Report on
IFMP will be presented to the Program Management Council.
3) Mid-term Performance Reviews need to be completed by the end of
March. Code AI will notify the Direct Reports to the Administrator
regarding a date and time for their review.
4) Dr. Mulville thanked the participants in last Thursday’s telecon
for their contribution in providing a status and clear definition of
actions resulting from the Senior Management Council Meeting. He noted
that this was a difficult process, and he appreciates the help received
in supporting Mal Peterson in NASA’s budget planning activity.
3. Center Reports
DFRC/Petersen: Space Shuttles’ Columbia and Atlantis will be transported
back to KSC, hopefully this week, if weather conditions cooperate.
GRC/Campbell: A motor control system that allows flywheels to transition
smoothly from a charge mode to a discharge mode was demonstrated at GRC.
For flywheels to be used as an energy storage system on the International
Space Station (ISS), they must be able to operate in two distinct modes:
charge and discharge. During charge mode, the additional power available
from the solar arrays is used to “charge,” or spin up, the flywheels.
During discharge mode, the flywheels would provide power to the Space
Station bus as they spin down. Flywheels require a sophisticated set of
power electronics and controls to allow them to be “charged” during
sunlight and “discharged” during eclipse. This accomplishment provides a
design for such a system that can be further developed into a product for
use on satellites and the ISS.
JSC/Estess: The Flight Readiness Review for the Space Shuttle Mission
STS-102 will be held tomorrow, February 27, 2001.
LaRC/Freeman: Dr. Christine Darden was honored as one of the Inductees
to the African American Portrait Collection during the Fifteenth Annual
Program Honoring African American History Month Celebration of the
Engineering Achievements of African Americans. Dr. Darden is one of
three recipients of this honor sponsored by the National Academy of
Sciences, National Academy of Engineering Institute of Medicine, National
Research Council.
4. Mr. Goldin
1) Activities supporting the budget are going to be a significant
focus for NASA between now and April 3, 2001, the date of our press
conference. The President will release his Budget Blueprint on
Wednesday, February 28. This document gives us our bottom line, but
details must still be developed. The budget is fair but tough and the
message from the White House is fiscal discipline. The Human Space
Flight budget includes change and reforms. We must live within our
budget and ensure that the Human Space Flight budget does not continually
change.
2) Safety remains our highest priority. NASA programs must have
adequate resources to ensure safety. First, safety for the public. We
absolutely must protect the public from harm. Second, safety for
astronauts and pilots, because they expose themselves to risk in high
hazard flight regimes. Third, safety for NASA workforce, because we owe
it to our NASA workforce to provide them with a safe and healthful
workplace. Fourth, safety for high-value equipment and property, because
we are stewards of the public’s trust.
3) Mr. Goldin described the general theory behind NASA’s budget.
The Human Space Flight program will focus on core activities supporting
the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station, and associated
research. Most other activities in the Human Spaceflight account will be
either delayed or cancelled until the budget issues are resolved.
Funding will not be transferred from the other Enterprises into the Human
Exploration and Development of Space Enterprise. We must narrow our
focus and prioritize.
4) Mr. Goldin had asked the other Associate Administrators for their
support to the Human Space Flight effort in terms of people and
facilities. Sam Venneri has been very responsive by providing critical
support for the Johnson Space Center (JSC). This will result in
off-loading various JSC personnel, creating an environment with less
stress and, in turn, a higher degree of safety.
5) Immediately after the Inauguration, a memo from Andrew Card was
sent to all agencies on the new Administration’s first directive of
proposed reforms. Mr. Goldin has promised that NASA will meet the
expectations of the President.
6) A few years ago, Mr. Abbey was asked to get the International
Space Station operational. He successfully completed that mission with
the installation of the Destiny module during STS-98. During the
campaign, the President made it clear he was serious about organizational
reform across all Federal Agencies. As a result of the President’s call
for reform, when the wheels of Space Shuttle Atlantis came to a stop, Mr.
Goldin made the final decision that it was time for change in leadership
at JSC. It is an optimal time for change. We can celebrate Mr. Abbey’s
clear contributions to America’s space program, while at the same time
look to new leadership at JSC to implement the difficult reform tasks at
hand. With an operational Space Station, the Agency now faces a new set
of challenges.
7) Based on his experience with our international partners, the
Administrator asked Mr. Abbey to take on a new role as Senior Assistant
for International Issues. In his new role, Mr. Abbey will perform
specific tasks for the Administrator that will support the Office of
External Relations, led by John Schumacher. The Administrator made it
very clear that John Schumacher is in charge of NASA’s external
relations.
8) Mr. Goldin believes the move was the right move for America’s
Space Program and the right move for George Abbey.
NOTE: ACTION ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE TRANSMITTED UNDER SEPARATE
COVER AND TRACKED BY THE HEADQUARTERS CORRESPONDENCE MANA0GEMENT OFFICE.
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS MAY BE ADDRESSED TO JILL HOOVER AT (202) 358-0905.