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| May 12, 2015 National Space Club Florida Committee luncheon |
Today I had the pleasure of returning to the National Space Club monthly luncheon. It's always a fun time to catch up with my space peeps over lunch and hear a good talk. Today's presentation was the annual update from NASA Kennedy Space Center Director and former astronaut Bob Cabana.
Maybe because I've heard Bob speak so
much recently, or maybe because all the upper management at NASA are
saying the same things, but I didn't hear anything new or noteworthy
in today's talk. It was a very standard NASA/KSC presentation including
the intro video that I've seen at least twice before. Surprise
remarks or new announcements make for a more interesting
presentation, but there's something to be said for listening closely
to the company message to hear the unspoken and note what's being
deemphasized. For example, maybe I missed it, but I don't think the
Space Launch System was mentioned once.
Bob's presentation contained lots of
NASA PR catchphrases, the first one being: Time to be bold again! I
don't think anyone on the planet outside of NASA management would use
the word bold to describe NASA in its current state, but in its
defense, the agency's hands are tied. I'm sure NASA would love to be
bold again, if only it was left alone by its political masters.
Bob's presentation was a general
overview of what NASA is up to these days. We explored the Moon with
Apollo then left, but now is the time for pioneering, another
current catchphrase. Through the International Space Station,
humanity established a presence in low-Earth orbit, but now is the
time to move on to establish a presence further in the solar system.
And by that, NASA means Mars. With robots we've established a presence
on Mars, but now we want to do so with humans. Bob spoke about
the “pay as you go” method, building on robotic precursors. No
additional details were given.
As an astronaut himself, Bob delighted
in telling us about the Mark and Scott Kelly twin study. One twin
(Scott) will fly on the International Space Station for a year while the
other (Mark) remains on Earth, and after a year, their medical results will
be compared. This project was controversial in my previous ISS job because of the questionable scientific merit, but it is good PR for NASA.
Bob spoke about the Orion program and
recounted the EFT-1 launch in December. He noted that the general
feeling at KSC was, “We're back,” and that he didn't expect the launch to
feel as good as it did. I have to agree with him. Even though EFT-1
was way over-hyped compared to its actual importance, KSC did seem to
come alive for that launch. I very much hope that EFT-1 doesn't
mirror Ares I-X's fate.
A mandatory talking point over the past
few years, Bob wrapped up by describing the ways in which KSC is
becoming a multiuser spaceport and is transforming launch operations. I
noted that Bob admitted that it's not happening as quickly as he'd
like, “but it is happening.” He briefly mentioned the Shuttle
Landing Facility hand-over to Space Florida, a very long time coming,
and joked that he'd done all that he could and it was up to Space Florida
now. Space Florida, of course, has the reverse opinion. Maybe we'll hear more from Space Florida CEO Frank DiBello when
he gives his annual NSC luncheon update next month.
Bob's presentation allowed no time for
questions, which was a shame because the most interesting and
noteworthy information could have come from his answers to audience
questions. He did make an off-the-cuff remark about how astronauts
are so soft now, not like the explorers who roughed it in the olden
days like Shackleton's expedition to the Antarctic. I ran into
(nearly literally) astronaut Chris Ferguson after the talk and I
wonder if he feels the same way about current astronauts versus the
explorers of old.
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| KSC Director Bob Cabana - May 12, 2015 |
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