BOULDER, COLORADO -- NASA newcomer, Sean O'Keefe, the space agency's 10th administrator, is grappling with the nature and purpose of the space program in today's world.
In wide ranging remarks at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia today, O'Keefe said that a strategic review is underway to help determine agency strengths and what NASA priorities should be pursued.
O'Keefe is reviewing roles and responsibilities of NASA's network of field centers, ascertaining what, if any, of the centers should be downsized, perhaps even closed. When asked specifically about such a prospect, the NASA head cautioned about too much speculation at this juncture.
"I think that everything should be on the table. It always ought to be," O'Keefe told a Langley auditorium audience.
One early agenda item is assessing how NASA may contribute its scientific and technological wherewithal to Homeland Defense and combating terrorism.
"I'm very optimistic we're going to see a very bright future ahead," O'Keefe said. However, the NASA chief said that priorities should be based on what science and technology work the agency can perform well. "From that [then] make a determination what size, capability, what kind of capacity do we need to have to support those priorities," he said.
"Objectives and requirements ought to drive all of what we do at NASA," O'Keefe said. The agency should not try to ascertain what is the capability, then "try to dream up ways to fill it up. It ought to be the other way around," he said.
Issues stemming from the September 11th terrorist attack on America have spurred a look at what NASA expertise can be tapped that are "relevant and immediate today", O'Keefe said.
O'Keefe told SPACE.com via a phone hookup that he wants his stewardship at NASA to be marked by demonstrating the enormous capabilities the agency can muster. His ambition is to help maintain NASA's legacy in "what I think we all like to think is our American spirit of exploration and challenge."
Hot button issue
Regarding the International Space Station, O'Keefe said it's "the hot button issue" that he now confronts. The project is dogged by cost overruns, squabbles between NASA and international partners working on the ISS, and the quality of research that can be derived from the expensive, Earth-orbiting facility.
Everyone needs to be mindful that an "awesome responsibility" exists in maintaining the health and wellbeing of crews onboard the station, O'Keefe remarked. "Because if they are going to take the risk to be involved in this, they deserve nothing less than our full, undivided attention," he said.
But that focus on the ISS cannot be at the expense of all else within NASA, O'Keefe added.
"As far as the space station is concerned, we're going to go about this methodically," the NASA chief said. "We need to determine exactly what we will yield and derive from that really fascinating capability we have now in place," he told SPACE.com.
Management of ISS, O'Keefe continued, can be bound in a way that NASA can become accountable and responsible for building and operating the large orbiting complex.
O'Keefe said that within the next 18 to 24 months, a hard look at the overall status of the ISS program should be finished, including a look at appropriate crew size, and what research can be accomplished at what cost. After that review, decisions on what the ultimate configuration of the station might become can be better determined, he said.
advertisement
