NASA May Merge Human Spaceflight and Operations Divisions

Amy Svitak, Space News Staff Writer

Date: 30 December 2010 Time: 10:46 AM ET

WASHINGTON ? NASA is considering a plan to merge its space operations and human spaceflight mission directorates to better align with the U.S. space agency's manned spaceflight goals, according to NASA officials.

In a Dec. 20 memo to agency employees, the heads of NASA's Exploration Systems and Space Operations mission directorates said they had been tasked by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to formulate a plan for combining the two organizations and report back to the agency chief in early 2011. [What Americans Plan in Space for 2011]

"With the upcoming retirement of the Space Shuttle and the likely transition away from the Constellation Program, planning is underway that could lead to NASA's Space Operations and Exploration Systems Mission Directorates merging to create a new directorate to manage the integrated human spaceflight portfolio for the Agency," wrote Doug Cooke and Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrators for NASA?s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate and Space Operations Mission Directorate, respectively.

"While there has not been a final decision made, we wanted to fully inform you of this planning and the fact that we will be working the upcoming OMB 'passback' as an integrated team," the document reads, referring to the White House Office of Management and Budget's process for setting spending ceilings for U.S. government agencies to use in drafting their annual budget requests.

According to the document, NASA hopes to identify the best organizational structure to implement its human spaceflight program consistent with the goals outlined in the NASA Authorization Act of 2010.

"Such a new organization would manage the International Space Station, Commercial Crew and Cargo, Space Launch System and Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Programs, among others currently existing within the two directorates," the document states.

The merger is intended in part to "minimize distraction" to the agency's space shuttle workers as that program winds down next year. Although the agency had planned to transition many of these workers to the Constellation program, a 5-year-old effort to replace the aging space shuttle fleet with new rockets and spacecraft optimized for lunar missions, U.S. President Barack Obama proposed canceling Constellation in his 2011 budget blueprint to Congress.

The document also says the merger would combine the directorates into a single organization, rather than making one directorate subordinate to another. An underlying goal of the effort is to make sure "everyone has a home in the new organization."

This article was provided by Space News, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.