Rocket Scientist

Yesterday I told you why I’m proud of the US space program. But I’m worried about it, too. And I have a number of reasons why.

Let me remind you that these are my personal opinions and not those of NASA or those of my company.

So, what’s changed, why isn’t NASA doing what they used to do? Why aren’t they more effective, making the same kind of breakthroughs that they did in the 60’s and 70’s?

Well, first of all, in some ways, they are. The scientists that complain about taking money from the unmanned programs were right to be concerned. Many of the unmanned programs are absolutely amazing: the Great Observatories, Mars explorers and mappers, Cassini, Pioneer, Voyager. We have spacecraft to study the sun and each of the other planets, even some that have examined moons for other planets.

It is freaking fabulous.

So, maybe the question is, why haven’t we done as much in the manned programs. Probably the biggest reason why unmanned has been more cutting edge and effective than manned programs? Politics.

Let me ask you a question. Back in the sixties, when JFK vowed to get to the moon, who wanted to get there before he ever thought of it? Yep, von Braun and several other rocketheads. And, aside from setting a goal and a timeline, what did JFK tell NASA to do? Not a damn thing. You know why? ‘Cause he wasn’t dumb enough to think he knew how we were going to do it.

Back then, scientists and engineers were telling the government what needed to be done (and Russia was making it clear it was doable) and the government was writing the checks. The people who built the space program weren’t in it for money (and I’m not saying those in charge today are either) - they just wanted to go into space, to make it happen. And they did.

The problem with spectacular success, especially when politics are around, is that everyone wants their name, their brand on the next success. As Apollo was (in my opinion) prematurely shut down, politics started calling the shots. Politicians started telling the scientists and engineers what they wanted, which meant requirements stopped working together. The Shuttle is a remarkable craft for many reasons, not the least of which that it has been so successful despite the many conflicting requirements imposed on its design.

Politicians also change. Engineers go down one path for several years and a change in administration pulls the rug out from under them. Your program evaporates after you’ve put in years of work. Or, the plan is completely changed late in the design process so that those years of work are still tossed. You will never get that dream house if you have stupid demands that make it structurally unsound or needlessly expensive or if you raze it to the ground six months after you start construction. Over and over again.

Nor will that dream house go up if you change what you’re willing to pay on a month by month basis. If you cut back the budget after the framing, you risk it all if you decide “No roof this month, I’ll catch that later.” Contractors balk, vendors move on, talent finds new avenues for their skills. Ditto for space endeavors.

Each year, the plans already in place are shaken up and reordered, requirements change, money added or taken away. Throw away the plans (eight years in development) for Space Station Freedom and start over. Bring in partners for political reasons (even if they are very capable), but the organization and control is confused and unwieldy. Change responsibility for other programs because a politician wants to make sure a NASA center in his district doesn’t have a big layoff.

Politicians don’t make good science and technology decisions because they serve too many masters and they don’t have the expertise. And they change and frequently. It is amazing what has been accomplished by NASA given some of the political games that are played with their programs.

So, why is it different for manned spaceflight rather than unmanned? In unmanned, scientists are still calling the shots on what needs to be done.

Food for thought.

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