NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, was established in 1958 under the Eisenhower administration. Its main purpose was to act as an independent agency to direct the nation’s space missions and research programs. Over the past 45 years, since its inception, NASA has experienced many problems and has received recent negative publicity. NASA has had longstanding managerial problems on the inside and with outside contractors. They have also failed to estimate costs and have conducted projects well beyond what their budget dictates. An example of that would be with the failed X-33 project, among others. This analysis will explore these areas of NASA and provide preliminary recommendations as to how the program can better itself, from management to new vehicles.
Although research of National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) government contractors over the last thirty years did not uncover any major allegations of shoddy workmanship or under spec deliverables, it did reveal serious issues with regard to billing fraud and huge bonuses paid out on over budget projects. Over the years there have been numerous allegations of fraud and abuse by NASA contractors. Finally in November 2000 the government was able to win a settlement against the Boeing Company of Seattle and the Houston-based United Space Alliance for a total of $825,000. In addition to the money that was awarded, these two companies agreed to forfeit any rights they have to collect on $1.2 million in unpaid invoices. This settlement was related to allegations that false claims had been submitted for work supposedly performed between 1986 and 1992 under the NASA Space Shuttle and Space Station Freedom programs. Originally, the Rockwell Space Operations Company (RSOC) was the contractor who was hired to manage the two programs. An RSOC sub-contractor, Omniplan Corporation, is accused of being involved in numerous fraudulent billing activities. The result of this fraud was that the United States was overcharged millions of dollars. The Boeing Company acquired RSOC in 1996 and at that time United Space Alliance took over the management of the two space programs. The government tried to sue Omniplan in 1993, but the company went bankrupt. In January 2000 the government then filed suit against RSOC claiming that they had submitted Omniplan’s false invoices. It is...
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David, L. (2000). Experimental spaceplane gets new lease on life. Retrieved March 1, 2003, from the World Wide Web http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/x33_newlease_001002.html
David, L. (2001). NASA shuts down X-33, X-34 programs. Retrieved March 1, 2003, from the World Wide Web http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/x33_cancel_010301.html
Eisler, P. (2003). Criticism about aging spacecraft and safety gets new attention. USA Today. Retrieved March 1, 2003, from the World Wide Web http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-02-02-safety-usat_x.htm
Nelson, D. (2003). NASA problems. Retrieved March 1, 2003, from the World Wide Web http://www.nasaproblems.com
Spires, S. (2003). O’Keefe says local center’s place in space is crucial to agency’s key programs. Marshall Space Flight Center news release. Retrieved March 1, 2003, from the World Wide Web http://std.msfc.nasa.gov/news/okeefe.html
Retrieved March 1, 2003, from the World Wide Web http://www.aerospacecommission.gov/quick_facts.html
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Lind, Michael. "Why We Should Embrace the End of Human Spaceflight."Salon.com. N.p.: n.p., 2011. N. pag. Rpt. in NASA. Ed. Margaret Haerens. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
HALVORSON, TODD. "As uncertainty grows over future of U.S. human spaceflight, NASA workers grow anxious". Gannett News Service. 29 Jan 2010 eLibrary. Web. 18 Feb 2010.
NASA has faced many tragedies during their time; but one can question if two of the tragedies were preventable by changing some critical decisions made by the organization. The investigation board looking at the decisions made for the space shuttle tragedies of the Columbia and Challenger noted that the “loss resulted as much from organizational as from technical failures” (Bolman & Deal, 2008, p. 191). The two space shuttle tragedies were about twenty years apart, they both had technical failures but politics also played a factor in to these two tragedies.
Eliminating federal funding for NASA is short sighted and risky. The benefits derived from NASA’s work over the last five decades have been tremendous. Future generations will continue to benefit from the many discoveries led by NASA and their space research. The risks of reducing funding for NASA and to cease its existance are great, as it is unknown what the next discovery will be and its impact on the USA and the world. The true potential of space research can only realized by continuing to fund NASA.
“In a fraught fiscal climate, NASA should focus on what it does best and on what offers the best return on investment. Solar system exploration meets both criteria: the U.S. has long led the interplanetary charge, and the resulting scientific benefits have come at a relative bargain. This year NASA 's planetary science program cost about $1.5 billion -- less than what NASA spent designing a congressionally mandated rocket, the Space Launch System, which appears more likely to satisfy aerospace contractors than to aid the cause of space exploration. Such directives from lawmakers all too often land in NASA 's lap without the funds to carry them out (To The
[4] Joseph P. Kerwin, “Report to Admiral Truly”, [online], Washington, DC.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, July 28, 1986 [cited March 16, 2010], available from World Wide Web:
Kovalenko, Natalya. "Space Junk Endangers Mankind's Usual Course of Life." The Voice of Russia. 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. .
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), was booming in the late 1960 's because the U.S. invested over 4.5 percent of the Federal Budget (Bolden). Unfortunately, in the recent years the Government has slashed funding for many of NASA’s projects in an attempt to cut back on the deficit and boost the economy. Despite the plummet in NASA 's budget, the program has proved that it 's prominence in the U.S., space programs like NASA continue to face difficulty in increasing its funds. Although, NASA leads Evidently, the government doesn 't think NASA is worth more than 0.47 percent of the federal budget. NASA is being underfunded and its funding should be substantially increased to make ends meet. This trend needs
The National Academies Press (2012) NASA’s Strategic Direction and Need for a National Consensus retrieved from http//www.npa.edu/openbook.php?record_id=18248&
"Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort." Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. .
V. [Thesis and Preview] I would like to inform and attempt to condense the topic of space exploration, whose scope and scale is as limitless as the universe itself. I'd like to start by giving attention to unmanned spaceflight, looking into a few notable discoveries made by these technologies. I will then bring together how these findings have fueled the desire for a continual presence of mankind in space, which can seen through the inception of the International Space Station.
I couldn't--" I started crying "I couldn't save Dean and you were right to blame me I was the worst mother I am the worst mother, wife, friend,sister I'm just a bad person I remember when it wasn't like this when I wasn't like this I was once a happy kid." Negan dropped Lucille to the ground and pulled me over into a tight
Detractors of public sector space agencies like NASA frequently argue that expending money and resources on sending humans into space is wasteful and irresponsible during shaky economic times. After all, in 2010 the U.S. Census Bureau in recorded 46.2 million people in poverty, the largest number in the 52 years the figure has been published. Putting tax dollars into a shuttle and sending it on an extraplanetary voyage is uneconomical in the eyes of many. However, beneficial developments of the space program can be found in airports, hospitals, laboratories, and homes around the world. Foam created for protecting the outside of a shuttle passing through the harsh atmosphere has found use as a durable, light-weight molding material for artificial limbs. Research and development for NASA'S programs has parented a network of hundreds of communication satellites used around the world on a daily basis and monitored by NASA. Robotic arms used for repairs, maintenance, and hazardous labor in sp...
It is within man’s blood and nature to explore, and space is our next New World. Man’s first achievement in space travel was the launch of the Sputnik on October 4, 1957. For the next decades, space travel was roaring like a rocket, fueled by man’s desire to explore, man’s desire for knowledge, and man’s desire to beat his enemies. However, these impulses have died out as the well of government funding has been diverted to wars and debts, and the interest of the American people has been diverted to wars and debts. Amidst all these issues it is debated as to whether or not space travel is worth the money and the attention of scientists, particularly since humanity faces so many issues on earth currently. However, because of the past inventions, current services, and future benefits, space travel is indeed worth the money and attention of governments and people. It is within our hands to control man’s advancement, and space travel is the next venue to do so.
(Source K) Flowers, Sarah. “Understanding: Space Travel.” Rev. of Understanding: Space Travel. PoQuest. N.p., Aug. 2000. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. .