Fwd: Panel says it can’t confirm Commercial Crew meets safety standards

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: February 28, 2015 at 2:15:22 PM CST
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Panel says it can't confirm Commercial Crew meets safety standards

 

 

Panel says it can't confirm Commercial Crew meets safety standards

Ledyard King, USA TODAY 12:11 a.m. EST February 28, 2015

WASHINGTON – It's impossible to know whether a multibillion-dollar program to replace the space shuttle with private rockets meets safety standards because NASA has been slow to provide adequate information, the head of a NASA advisory panel said Friday.

"Candid, timely, and transparent communication has been insufficient," Vice Adm. Joseph Dyer, chairman of the NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, told members of a House Science, Space and Technology subcommittee. "This lack of transparency has been a concern for a number of years despite numerous discussions... with senior NASA officials."

Dyer's remarks echo a report his panel issued last month saying it has been denied access to "critical safety and certification information" necessary to evaluate the safety of the Commercial Crew Program.

The initiative is an Obama administration priority aimed at hiring private companies to transport astronauts from the U.S. to the International Space Station starting in late 2017. Since the last shuttle mission in 2011, NASA has paid Russia hundreds of millions to ferry U.S crew to the orbiting lab.

Dyer told lawmakers NASA has been more forthcoming with information in recent weeks, but that did not satisfy lawmakers.

"Denying information to (the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel), or Congress, about the Commercial Crew Program is unacceptable when the hardworking American taxpayers are footing the bill for the program and the safety of our astronauts is on the line," said GOP Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., who chairs the Space Subcommittee that held Friday's hearing.

That sentiment was shared by Maryland Rep. Donna Edwards, the top Democrat on the subcommittee. Edwards told Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration, she was "incredibly dismayed at the advisory panel's difficulty in obtaining the kind of information they need to advise Congress."

The Commercial Crew Program is a departure from traditional NASA contracting. In part to save money and spur innovation, the agency is giving two companies — Boeing and SpaceX — billions in federal subsidies under Space Act agreements that provide contractors latitude to build their spacecraft. That process is less transparent because some of the work is proprietary to the companies.

Gerstenmaier told lawmakers the companies still must meet NASA's safety standards. He said the release of data was complicated by a bid protest involving the Commercial Crew Program, but the agency turned over pertinent information to the advisory panel in January.

"And we'll continue to give more as needed," he told lawmakers.

It's the latest flashpoint between NASA and Congress over the Commercial Crew Program.

Republican lawmakers are particularly wary of the program because they believe it's draining resources from Congress' top priority: a deep-space mission to Mars. NASA has consistently responded that the two are not connected.

As part of the administration's $18.5 billion request for NASA in fiscal 2016, the White House is seeking $1.24 billion for the shuttle replacement program.

Congress approved a record $805 million for the program in this year's budget but has never fully met the administration's request. That lack of full funding over the years has prompted NASA to rely on Space Act agreements more than it intended, Gerstenmaier said.

When first conceived, Commercial Crew was projected to start flights to the space station in 2016. Gerstenmaier warned anything short of funding the full request next year would likely delay the first flights to at least 2018.

Relying on the Russians for another year of rides to the orbiting lab could cost as much as $500 million, more than the increase NASA is seeking for the program next year.

California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, whose district is close to SpaceX headquarters, said that would be a mistake.

"That is a very considerable price that we're paying than if we just go ahead and fund the program," he told fellow subcommittee members. "I hope that sinks into people's minds."

Contact Ledyard King at lking@gannett.com

© 2015 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc.

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