In a post over at The Mars Society A Trajectory to Nowhere, former NASA Associate Administrator of Exploration Systems Mission Directorate Doc Horowitz dispels the myths used by those in the Obama Administration to support their criticism of Project Constellation. In the process, retired Astronaut Horowitz reveals those behind this effort and their motives, the fault in their logic (such as it is) and the likely outcome of their rather ill thought-out policies towards NASA that have become a political disaster.
AmericaSpace Note: We have put faces behind the names.
You were let go from NSS because you could not do your job and now you are trying to get revenge against Lori for that. How pathetic, Hillhouse.
Yes, being an administrative assistant at the National Space Society–really just a 7-person office, was a task far too difficult for me to handle…but earning a B.A. in History, a B.S.E. in Aerospace Engineering, and an M.S.E. in Orbital Mechanics from a top-10 University, running an oil & gas asset management company for 13 years, and becoming a successful iPhone developer wasn’t. Seriously…no, I was not let go and anyone stating such is a liar.
Am I, or is AmericaSpace, going after Lori Garver out of animus for my experience at NSS 22 years ago? In all honesty, while it might (or might not) flatter her to believe so, the answer is a firm, “No!” The biggest criticism early-on posted by me and this blog was that Ms. Garver was ill-suited for the NASA Deputy Administrator’s job, a job that normally was held by those with extensive technical aerospace background, which Ms. Garver woefully lacks. After Ms. Garver won Senate confirmation, all was quiet on our end concerning her.
Then the Obama Administration released its proposal to outsource our nation’s human space flight program on February 1, 2010. It was, and continues to be, widely rumored that Ms. Garver was a key architect of what can now only be called a political and policy debacle of historical proportions, at least within space circles. We have, since February 1st, published 9 out of 384 posts, or 2.3%, that mention Ms. Garver. Have we been tough on one of the rumored key creators of the “Obama Space Plan” the few times we posted about her? You bet. Is that tough coverage because of what she or her minion says occurred 22 years ago?
Our tough coverage of Ms. Garver, Dr. Holdren and his OSTP staffers Kohlenberg and Shawcross is because the human space flight plan they created and promoted would effectively cede what so many have sacrificed in money and lives to attain–American leadership in human space flight. We are particularly upset that a great astronaut and public servant who is Charlie Bolden was forced to go out and defend the tripe that is the policy initiative these individuals tried to thrust upon our great nation. To Garver, Holdren, et. al this may just be a policy debate. To those of us who have worked in our nation’s space program, it is far more.
It is my personal opinion that, had another individual more qualified to be Deputy Administrator held that position, the notion of outsourcing our nation’s human space flight program would have gotten no farther than a cursory mention. That’s because a more technically experienced individual would have seen the arguments that have now defeated the proposed Obama human space flight policy. That foresight would have saved the Administration a needless headache, the embarrassment of Neil Armstrong’s criticism, and possibly 27 electoral votes in the 2012 election.
Ms. Garver’s role at NASA is not to embarrass the President or the NASA Administrator. Yet, as part of the rumored “Gang of Four”, she has done exactly that. Because of these ghastly missteps, we will continue to cover Ms. Garver, along with the rest of the Gang, until their ability to promulgate bad policy for our nation’s human space flight program are at an end. It is rumored that such a day is growing near.