CAPE CANAVERAL – NASA administrator Mike Griffin is not cooperating with President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team, is obstructing its efforts to get information and has told its leader that she is “not qualified” to judge his rocket program, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.
In a heated 40-minute conversation last week with Lori Garver, a former NASA associate administrator who heads the space transition team, a red-faced Griffin demanded to speak directly to Obama, according to witnesses.
In addition, Griffin is scripting NASA employees and civilian contractors on what they can tell the transition team and has warned aerospace executives not to criticize the agency’s moon program, sources said.
Griffin’s resistance is part of a no-holds-barred effort to preserve the Constellation program, the delayed and over-budget moon rocket that is his signature project. Chris Shank, NASA’s Chief of Strategic Communications, denied that Griffin is trying to keep information from the team, or that he is seeking a meeting with Obama. He also insisted that Griffin never argued with Garver. “We are working extremely well with the transition team,” he said.
However, Shank acknowledged Griffin was concerned that the six-member team – all with space policy backgrounds – lack the engineering expertise to properly assess some of the information they have been given. Garver refused comment about her conversation with Griffin — and his remark that she is “not qualified” — during a book-publication party at NASA headquarters last week. Obama’s Chicago office – which has sent similar transition teams to every federal agency – also had no comment.People close to Garver, however, say that she has confirmed “unpleasant” exchanges with Griffin and other NASA officials. “Don’t worry, they have not beaten me down yet,” she e-mailed a colleague. And this week, Garver told a meeting of aerospace representatives in Washington that “there will be change” to NASA policy and hinted that Obama would name a new administrator soon, according to participants.
On one hand it must be tough to come under scrutiny with a new boss every few years, on the other it is tax payer money, and NASA must be cooperative.
NASA is one of the great American stories but it’s not the Vatican.
Go Obama! ANY government official that resists oversight and transparency needs to go work in private industry where that mentality is appropriate.
This goes for Dick Cheney, too, but that’s another story.
They can go into the private sector, take over some large company, run it into the ground and then go back to the Feds and ask for money. No problem….can’t let them fail now, can we. NASA’s budget is a ripple compared to the cash being thrown at the incompetent CEO’s of the financial and auto industries.
“Lori Garver, a former NASA associate administrator” Why is she a former NASA Employee? Is there already bad blood between her and Griffin? Now she can get back at Griffin or put him in his place.
I think there is more going on here than we know. While I agree with #1 that government officials need oversight. The problem is the overseer better or worst then the person their overseeing.
NASA could run the new national cyberspace network the FCC is proposing with the old TV airwaves. The subscription model is shot. Verizon wants you on the wires like it’s 1950. People are going broke, mortgages are a bust, the big three are soon to follow and we get to invent a new way to run prices up all to string up more wires to charge people $50.00 a month to use the network that we paid for to begin with. You don’t need cable.
NASA should be re-chartered, they are a dinosaur.
Good for him. Tell the bitch to suck it. Obama is not in office yet.
And on the third hand, it might be a mistake for Griffin to tell the transition team of his future boss that they aren’t smart enough to understand NASA.
Simple solution: cut 100% of NASAs budget.
As far as I can tell, during the period between the Space Shuttle getting phased out and the “new” launch vehicle is ready, NASA plans to continue spending an ever-increasing budget, despite not actually launching anyone into space.
Is NASA too big to fail?
Sell it to Disney.
They’re going to have to do something, we’ve invested too much money into the space station and the Space Shuttle is near retirement.
How dang hard is it to modernize the Saturn V rocket design and build more? I’ll bet they could launch a lunar mission in three years if they wanted to.
You’d be wrong S_Else.
So much of that work is lost, it would have to be redone from scratch. We don’t even have a suitable prototype to reverse engineer.
For all intents and purposes, the new program would have been Saturn VI – similar project for similar goals using more modern tech.
Must be the military Space Shuttle they’re hiding. American politics is getting more like the West Wing every day.
I’m a big believer in NASA, as far as I’m concerned they are responsible for expanding the potential of the species in many ways and is a huge source of US pride. But considering the string of failures under his watch it sounds more like he’s trying to save his job rather than the programs. Maybe they do need to be scrapped and started over under someone else. As long as it dosn’t get scrubbed.
For a guy with a PHd. he’s pretty stupid.
NASA and the DoD need to focus on development of a space elevator. The current method (rockets) of getting men and materials in to space is just too expensive and risky. A space elevator will do for the space industry what the Interstate Freeway System did for America, open it up for the masses.
Wow this guy is acting just like Obama. He’s probably going to get a promotion for his behavior, since he has shown he knows how to operate.
That said, if Obama took revenge by shutting down NASA, I’d be happy.
Two things:
– Griffin is in turf protection mode, pure and simple. It will backfire.
– Griffin is correct that Garver and her team of bureaucrats are unqualified to evaluate his program. This has never, ever mattered in any technical field overseen by the government.
Griffin loses.
Why should he answer any questions? Right now Obama has no position in the government. He is president-elect only.
okay, two of the best arguments I can provide FOR Griffin are the following:
“Ms. Garver received her Masters degree in Science, Technology, and Public Policy from the George Washington University in 1989, and her Bachelors degree in Political Science and Economics from Colorado College in 1983.”
The important part of this is: she’s not even a technical person, much less a scientist or engineer. I see people with business or marketing (or economics or whatever non-technical) degrees making decisions around at work (NASA) on nearly a daily basis, and it’s the cause for a very large part of the b.s. we have to go through. Non-technical people giving marching orders on technical subjects is bad, plain and simple.
“Garver has served as a lead space policy advisor for the Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry campaigns for president.”
Her assistance has been far from non-partisan, and she just happens to have sided with the party that chooses big spending for welfare programs over scientific achievement EVERY TIME.
Based on her resume (above), I’m sure Griffin sees her as a bureaucrat through and through, and believes that she’ll make some ridiculous recommendation to the President/Congress that goes against everything he worked for in office.
Since he’s already stated he’s resigning, the only good reasons for stories like this to be circulating are either that she’s being ultra-obnoxious in her pursuit of her “transition agenda” or that she’s trying to make him look bad (also to further her transition agenda).
On a personal note, it really ticks me off that we had an associate administrator that who’s entire background is in politics and PR.
#17 – Lyin’ Mike
>>Right now Obama has no position in the
>>government. He is president-elect only.
So then why are you wingnuts bitching and moaning about him all the time?
As to Obama’s status, if he did NOT seek information, and walked into meetings like Dumbya, with pretzel crumbs on his suit and not a thought in his head, say “So. What are we talking about here? Huh?”, you’d bitch and moan about him. When he tries to do things the right way, and gather information on programs he’ll be responsible for, you bitch and moan about him.
Why not just STFU and wait the 39 days until he takes office, THEN see what he does?
Sending Humans into space COSTS TOO MUCH !!! Too much of the Payload goes to Life Support – would be more profitable to send ROBOTS with more instrumentation !!! No Life Support – air, water, food, urine-recycling machines, etc … I don’t even want to ask how they will recycle solid human waste – YECH !!! And of course, NO LOSS OF HUMAN LIFE in the event of the predictable rocket failure – just build another robot !!! So Obama can kill the Constellation, and have NASA build more satellites to monitor Earth and global warming and CO2 Pollution !!!
“Not qualified” is a cop-out.
If you cannot explain technical issues to any university-educated person clearly enough for them to understand it, then YOU are the idiot.
#21, You are a moron. I don’t know what else to say.
A rat done bit my sister Nell…
etc…
NASA does need to be restructured. Griffin is just in a pissing contest which he’ll lose. He serves at the pleasure of the President. Humans beyond low Earth orbit are too expensive for a single nation. NASA’s budget will probably take significant hits as the economic crises worsens, which it will. The budget doesn’t amount to much, but cuts will be symbolic.
President ELECT the new super power?
Interesting how (almost) no one is taking the left/right bait from the editor. Way to stay on topic guys.
Personally, I think Griffin is trying to be a hero for a lot of NASA-lifers who are tired of being lead around by the executive branch. He knows he’ll lose… but going out a hero is better than going out as Bush’s lackey.
As for NASA itself, I’ve yet to hear a really good case… beyond “it’s cheaper”… for the shuttle replacement coming in a few years. NASA is in need of an intellectual bailout; new thinking, new ideas, and new ambition. Who knows if its going to happen.
The obvious question is, why is someone that smart in an administrative position?
NASA has been screwed with by pols for decades. Until the politicians stopped micromanaging it it’ll never move forward.
In other words, NASA will remain the way it is.
At the moment this guy doesn’t have to tell Obama or his people jack however this in no way to treat your next boss if you expect to keep your job.
I can only assume this guy expects to get fired anyway and wants to delay the investigation until after he is terminated.
Griffin had better get his resume’ ready. Obama will be getting rid of everybody. I think Gates will be the only survivor and his job is temporary at best.