Minutes of Senior Staff and Center Directors’ Meeting – June 4, 2001
The following documents the discussions addressed at the Senior Staff and
Center Directors’ Meeting on June 4, 2001. Action assignments have been
placed in brackets [ ] for easy identification.
1. AA Reports
Q/Gregory: Mr. Gregory provided the safety report on boating safety.
Each year, many Americans take to the water for pleasure boating or
sailing, fishing, water or jet skiing the Nation’s lakes, rivers, and
inland waterways. Boating is a fun sport, but it can be deadly if
precautions are not taken. Operating a boat requires skill,
concentration and a keen sense of awareness in the boat and on water. A
clear head and a responsible outlook are necessary to make a day on the
water as smooth and as safe as possible.
AM/Angotti: Ms. Angotti provided the health report on near
drowning. According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 5000 people
drown each year in the United States, including over a thousand children.
Drowning is defined as suffocation by immersion. Near drowning is an
immersion accident with suffocation that leads to unconsciousness or
coma. Treatment of near drowning involves prompt correction of hypoxia
and acidosis with the goal of preventing hypoxic brain damage. CPR
should be initiated immediately, along with correction of hypothermia (by
blanket or any means available). The best approach to drowning is
prevention. Watch your children constantly, never swim alone, never use
alcohol when swimming or boating, learn to swim, limit access to home
pools, and empty all buckets at home (5 gallon buckets are a particular
hazard for very young children). Learn CPR – it is a skill that may well
prove life saving, and you never know when you’ll need it.
R/Reck: On Saturday, June 2, 2001, a mishap occurred with the X-43A test
flight. A mishap investigation board is being formed.
S/Weiler: The High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI) launch is
on hold while investigators determine the cause of the mishap that
occurred during the X-43A test flight on Saturday.
P/Cleggett: Today, the Office of Public Affairs will issue a press
release on a book entitled “Touch the Universe, a NASA Braille Book on
Astronomy.”
L/Rothman: 1) Office of Management and Budget (OMB) representatives are
at JSC reviewing the International Space Station (ISS) and Space Shuttle
Programs. Science Committee staff are at MSFC reviewing the Space Launch
Initiative and microgravity programs. 2) A hearing before the House
Committee on Science, Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics is scheduled
for June 12; the subject is Space Launch Initiative. 3) Another hearing
before the Subcommittee is tentatively scheduled for June 26; the subject
is Space Tourism.
F/Novak: 1) The Office of Personnel Management will review NASA’s human
resources programs/functions this month. 2) The annual Agency Honor
Awards Ceremony will be held on Thursday, June 21, 2001.
2. Dr. Mulville
1) The HQ/GSFC Annual Picnic will be held this Saturday, June 9, at the
GSFC Recreation Center. 2) The NASA Security Council is scheduled to
meet on Thursday, June 21. The Agency Honor Awards Ceremony will also be
held on June 21. 3) The Senior Management Council Meeting will be held
on Friday, June 22. 4) Dr. Mulville commented on the Strategic
Resources Review. He will collaborate with Mal Peterson to work out
integration and coordination issues and will convene an Integration Team
meeting next week. 5) Dr. Mulville presented the 2001 HQ Softball
Tournament update.
3. Center Directors
DFRC/Petersen: Dryden is supporting the X-43A mishap investigation
board.
JSC/Estess: OMB is at JSC through June 6, 2001, to review the
International Space Station (ISS) and Space Shuttle Program budgets.
Based on the current problems with the Space Station Remote Manipulator
System (SSRMS) robot arm on orbit, the STS-104 (7A) launch has been
slipped to no earlier than July 2, and the STS-105 (7A.1) to no earlier
that August 5.
KSC/Bridges: 1) Space Shuttle STS-104 (Atlantis) is ready to roll to the
pad next Monday, June 11. 2) HESSI/Pegasus Countdown Rehearsal is in
progress today, and the launch aircraft and integrated stack are at the
Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral. The launch is on hold pending the
resolution of the mishap with the X-43. 3) The Microwave Anisotropy
Probe (MAP) Spacecraft is undergoing final readiness preparations for its
upcoming launch June 30, 2001. 4) The Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellite (GOES) is in processing for a launch on a
Lockheed Martin Atlas II on July 15, 2001. 5) The International
Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union workforce at the
United Space Alliance (USA) has voted to strike effective Sunday night
this week unless the impasse in negotiations can be resolved.
MSFC/Stephenson: Bob Hughes will be leading the X-43A mishap
investigation.
SSC/Craig: SSC will conduct a public engine test on June 9, 2001.
NOTE: ACTION ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE TRANSMITTED UNDER SEPARATE COVER AND
TRACKED BY THE HEADQUARTERS CORRESPONDENCE MANAGEMENT OFFICE. SPECIFIC
QUESTIONS MAY BE ADDRESSED TO BRIDGET FENNER AT (202) 358-0909.
