credit NASA / caption: acting NASA administrator Christopher Scolese (above) speaks rarely it seems
Following US president Barack Obama telling the Orlando Sentinel that he is to choose his NASA administrator "soon", the National Space Foundation has confirmed the secretary of the US Air Force for its 1600h slot on its 25th National Space Symposium's (NSS) final day, Thursday 2 April, which had been down as a speech by the NASA administrator but TBC
So now there will be no NASA administrator at the NSS, the first time I can remember, and the European Space Agency (ESA) appears to have almost as many people attending as the US space agency and have a longer session
ESA director-general Jean-Jacques Dordain did tell me in January that he would have a meeting with NASA before his arrival at the NSS so maybe he can explain the mystery to me when I see him in Colorado Springs
For 30 whole minutes on 2 April it is all up to you exploration systems mission directorate associate administrator Doug Cooke and the office of evaluation and analyses guy...
Hyperbola has tried to get an interview with acting NASA administrator Christopher Scolese but had no luck. NASA did tell us that there could be a budget update this month and with the FY2009 omnibus bill being passed and the FY2010 budget published now might be a good time to have that briefing - unless of course you knew there was going to be an imminent change in leadership
Inwhich case when? I am actually guessing it can't be before the NSS. A, there would be no reason not to attend (it's a good event for a first public appearence and their ESA counterpart will be there) and, b, Obama's inadequate grasp of the facts during his press event that the Orlando Sentinel reported on suggests that he hasn't been briefed or had any kind of meeting about NASA recently
April is just over two weeks away so I am guessing Scolese will still be there but whether he'll address a budget briefing is anyone's guess. With the extra $1 billion for NASA from the recovery and reinvestment act and the need for a plan on how to spend it within 60-days (NASA tells Hyperbola they will have something much sooner and we know it is engaging with industry on the topic already) perhaps Obama's definition of "soon" is more like late April?
Drift Mr President? I can think of one person who is ensuring that NASA is adrift
on March 14, 2009 1:26 AM | Reply
It's almost certain that Chris Scolese will still be acting administrator come April 2. Even if Obama nominated someone today, the Senate confirmation process would take weeks. As the Washington Post noted last week, the average time between nomination and confirmation so far in the current administration was over 60 days:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/03/AR2009030303970.html
That means Scolese would likely be acting administrator well into May -- or beyond -- unless the Senate for some reason expedited the nomination, and it's tough to see that happening. Moreover, confirmations can be put on hold by any member for any reason: that's what happened to the nominations for OSTP director and NOAA administrator, for reasons having nothing to do with them or their positions.
Also keep in mind that Scolese has been keeping a very low profile as acting administrator, which makes sense as he's not in a position to talk much about policy. So it's not surprising he's not speaking at NSS (or why he won't do any interview with you.) When it comes time to do the budget briefing in April, he may have to do that, but likely will focus on the numbers and not the policy behind them to any great degree.