WASHINGTON (States News Service) - Two reports criticizing NASA for trimming the workforce for the sake of cost savings give Congress an opportunity to weigh into a big question: Does NASA need to change its management strategy?
Although lawmakers had yet to review the reports late Monday because Congress was in recess, Senate aides said the findings on NASA's "faster, better, cheaper" policy and the failure of the Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft would be key topics in a Senate hearing next week.
The reports' authors, former Jet Propulsion Laboratory project manager Tony Spear and Marshall Space Flight Center chief Art Stephenson, are being considered as witnesses for the Senate's Space and Technology Subcommittee hearing March 22 to examine NASA's management woes.
A House aide who deals with space policy said the reports both raise valid points, such as the need to avoid rushing to fulfill the goal of launching missions "faster" if it detracts from them being "better."
The aide, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said the Stephenson report represents an implicit change from "faster, better, cheaper." The report called for moving towards a vision of "Mission Success First," eclipsing the current priority of "faster, better, cheaper."
"To me, that's a bit of a shift from the original premise," the aide said. "How much of a shift are we talking about? Fine-tuning it, or pulling away from it? The question will be how you implement what he's recommending."
That question will likely be raised in the upcoming hearing, which may also feature a bill -- still in draft form -- that calls for changes in NASA's management structure.
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