Wesley Huntress, Charles
Kennel and Eugene Levy each served on the NASA Advisory Council's science
committee. Kennel resigned by choice but Huntress and Levy were asked to leave
by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin.
Levy, a professor of
physics and astronomy who also is provost at Rice University in Houston, said
Thursday their commitment to a broad science program at NASA ''didn't comport
with the kind of advice that the administrator and the chairman of the
committee were looking for.''
Levy said he understood the
budget constraints on NASA, but "we were certainly concerned that a strong
commitment to science be maintained.''
When asked if he thought
his outspokenness on the science budget led to his forced resignation, Levy
said, "That's a little unclear for me.''
An assistant said Kennel
was on vacation and could not be reached, and Huntress did not return two phone
calls to his office.
NASA press secretary Dean
Acosta said that the members of the advisory council serve at the pleasure of
the administrator. Acosta said he did not know the particulars of why the two
were asked to resign.
"I don't want to give the
impression that these guys were outspoken and that's why they were asked to
leave because that's not the case at all,'' Acosta said. "The administrator is
looking for ... members to advise him based on the priority that the agency has
and based on what our parameters are.''
NASA has come under fire in
the past year for limiting growth in its science budget to 1.5 percent next
year and 1 percent each year through the end of the decade. The limits should
help the agency pay to finish the international space station and prepare
sending astronauts back to the moon.
advertisement
