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C J Scolese Response to ASAP Questions

b. Implementing the SRB process has been difficult due to resistance 
from people at lower levels. This resistance has resulted in limited utility for human space flight.

c. Defending our budget to the OMB and Hill. There is great support for most of the missions and focus areas but there is not understanding about the impacts of changes in priority on existing plans. These changes have direct and indirect effects on safety and mission success as the Agency now must make hard decisions to delay, defer, or change direction on not only programs but also on training, oversight, facilities, and tools. We also seem to be unable to articulate how these shifts affect not only the missions but the safety and probability of success for our missions.
 
d. The USAF led NPOESS development delays represent a threat to NASA's science budget and ability to meet the Earth Science Decadal goals established by the NRC and endorsed by Congress.
 
e. Maintaining 10 reasonably healthy Centers without crippling programs.

f. Developing a single communication architecture from several stove-piped, independent communication programs, to a centrally managed, network service architecture, providing communications and navigation services to meet the needs of both robotic and human exploration for the next 30-40 years.

g. Program and project cost estimation, especially for one-of-a-kind systems, with appropriate cost, schedule, and performance flexibility.
 
h. Designing Ares and Orion to have improved operational characteristics over our Shuttle and EELV systems.
 
i. Renewal of institutional infrastructure.

j. Moving the NASA culture to where a decision is a decision, rather than a call to a debate. 

5. What was easier than you expected?

a. Establishing a routine monthly reporting structure that captures Agency performance against plans, that also serves to communicate issues among different communities.
 
b. Establishing stronger ties to the NASA engineering community through the Office of Chief Engineer, the NESC, the Engineering Management Board, and technical fellows. Today the engineering community is more cohesive and cooperative than it has ever been.
 
c. Implementing the principles, organizational structures, and checks and balances in NPD 1000.0 was much easier than expected. Most of the program and institutional elements understood it and implemented it quickly and effectively.
 
d. Getting INSKA approved.

e. Restarting plans for a human-based servicing of HST using STS.

f. Landing on Mars with powered descent using non-throttleable engines (pulsed descent engines) as on PHOENIX. 

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