Keith Cowing

Recent Actions

• Posted One Last Night Departure to NASA Watch

  The Last Shuttle To Leave Earth at Night, SpaceRef "An hour after the orange glow of Endeavour's liftoff lit the Kennedy Space Center press site on Feb. 8, NASA officials beamed at the bit of bright news illuminating an otherwise...

• Posted Non-televised Press Briefing with Bolden to NASA Watch

  NASA Administrator, JSC Director Set Media Roundtable Today at JSC "NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Johnson Space Center Director Mike Coats will be available for a roundtable discussion with media at 2:30 p.m. CST today, Monday, Feb. 8, at the...

• Posted Making NASA "Open" to NASA Watch

  NASA Idea Brainstorming Tool, Open Government at NASA "NASA is seeking input on the creation of the NASA Open Government Plan. As outlined in the Open Government Directive, this brainstorming tool is a mechanism gain input on how to make...

• Posted Ground Control To Major Toms to NASA Watch

  NASA Launches David Bowie Concept Mission, The Onion "NASA officials announced today the successful launch of the new shuttle Moonage Daydream, marking the beginning of a long-anticipated two-week conceptual mission inspired by British rock star David Bowie. The crew of...

• Posted Endeavour Is In Orbit to NASA Watch

  NASA STS-130 Report #01 4 a.m. CST Monday, Feb. 8, 2010 "After a one day delay due to clouds, space shuttle Endeavour launched at 3:14 a.m. CST Monday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with a new module and...

• Posted Video: STS-130 Night Launch to NASA Watch

• Posted Bolden Meets The Press to NASA Watch

• Posted China's Lunar Ambitions to NASA Watch

  China space program shoots for moon, Washington Times "Senior Chinese space officials have told their state media that China could be on the moon by 2022 at the outside. Other authoritative Chinese space engineers see a moon landing as a...

• Posted You Know You Messaging Plan Is Not Working When ... to NASA Watch

  Keith's note: You know that the message plan NASA has been trying to roll out is not working when signs carried by protesters outside of KSC today say "Obama lied - NASA died". It gets worse: I also received...

• Posted Former NASA Astronauts On Commercial Space to NASA Watch

  Cernan: Pres. Unwilling to Invest in U.S. Future, Fox 26 TV Houston "I'm angry. It's very short sighted on the part of this administration," said Cernan. "He is somehow unwilling to invest in the future of this country and the...

• Posted Today's Space Policy Reactions to NASA Watch

  Vision Impaired, Paul Spudis, Air & Space "I have previously discussed what I perceive as the most significant problem with FP, namely, that it is activity without direction. The administration's budgetary version of this path confirms this perception. Much verbiage...

• Posted Video: JSC's Project M to NASA Watch

  This video of NASA JSC's "Project M" depicts a Robonaut-based, tele-operated mission to the Moon - one that JSC claims could be accomplished in 1,000 days once the go-ahead was given....

• Posted NASA Facilities in DC Area Prepare for Snowstorm to NASA Watch

  "OPM: The Federal Government will be open in the morning operating under an unscheduled leave policy with a planned 4 hour early dismissal. Employees reporting for work should be dismissed by their agencies 4 hours earlier than their normal departure...

• Posted Farewell Full Cost Accounting? to NASA Watch

  IFPTE: A new day at NASA - a rebirth at Ames "More specifically, there was truly terrific news on Monday as the Obama Administration has addressed many of IFPTE's NASA-budget recommendations: 1.  Full-cost recovery has been cancelled (IFPTE's #1 workforce...

• Posted Google Earth Images From 1966 to NASA Watch

  Technoarcheology and Earth Sciences, the Recovery of Nimbus II High Resolution Infrared Radiometer Data "In 2008 the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project (LOIRP) began a NASA ESMD sponsored project to resurrect 43+ year old Ampex FR-900 instrumentation tape drives for...

• Posted Mixed Messages From A Less Than Perfect Rollout to NASA Watch

  NASA Plan Faces Turbulence in House, WS Journal "NASA's proposed budget "essentially decimates America's human space-flight capacity," said Democratic Rep. Donna Edwards of Maryland Rep, Ralph Hall of Texas, the ranking Republican on the full Science and Technology Committee, said...

• Posted Stealth NASA Space Commerce Meeting to NASA Watch

  Keith's note: The NASA IPP NASA Commercial Space Initiatives Team Meeting is meeting on 9 Feb. Who knew? No Federal Register notice, no mention on the NASA IPP home page - no mention anywhere at NASA.gov. You would think...

• Posted NASA Is Oblivious to NASA Watch

  The right way forward on space exploration, OpEd, James Cameron, Washington Post "... the president and NASA have crafted a bold plan that truly makes possible this nation's dreams for space. Their plan calls for the full embrace of commercial...

• Posted Pluto - In Color to NASA Watch

  Pluto's White, Dark-Orange, and Charcoal Black Terrain Captured by Hubble "NASA has released the most detailed and dramatic images ever taken of the distant dwarf planet Pluto. The images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope show an icy, mottled, dark molasses-colored...

• Posted Lunar Echoes on STS-130 to NASA Watch

  Mementos from canceled NASA moon plan flying on space shuttle, Collectspace "Together with a piece of Everest's summit, also retrieved by Parazynski, the plaque-mounted moon rocks will be displayed inside Tranquility's new seven-windowed Cupola to inspire the astronauts working there....

• Posted The Perfect NASA Out Reach Activity to NASA Watch

  NASA and GM Create Cutting Edge Robotic Technology "NASA and General Motors are working together to accelerate development of the next generation of robots and related technologies for use in the automotive and aerospace industries. Engineers and scientists from NASA...

• Posted Buzz Aldrin Thanks President Obama to NASA Watch

  President Obama's JFK Moment, Buzz Aldrin, Huffington Post "Thank you, Mr. President. That's what we should say to President Barack Obama in light of his Fiscal Year 2011 space budget for NASA. The President courageously decided to redirect our nation's...

• Posted Personnel Announcements to NASA Watch

  NASA Internal memo: Message from the NASA Administrator: Feb. 3, 2010 "In anticipation of the President's new vision for NASA, I have been working closely with the NASA senior leadership team to ensure that we are ready to take on...

• Posted CCDev and COTS Update to NASA Watch

  NASA Unveils Commercial Human Spaceflight Development Agreements and Announces $50 Million in Seed Funding for Commercial Crew "At a National Press Club event to "introduce new commercial space pioneers," the President's Science Advisor John Holdren and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden...

• Posted The Opening Salvo From Congress to NASA Watch

  Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee - Hearing: Key Issues and Challenges Facing NASA: Views of the Agency's Watchdogs WEBCAST (I had big problems with this webcast today) Keith's note: Hmm... Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, known Ares 1 hugger, who is anti-commercial spaceflight...

• Posted Bolden Talks About The Constellation Team to NASA Watch

  "NASA Administrator Charles Bolden outlines the Administration's fiscal year 2011 budget request as the agency's road map for a new era of innovation and discovery, and answers questions from reporters as the featured Newsmaker at the National Press Club...

• Posted CxP Fights Back: The Video to NASA Watch

  Keith's note: I can totally understand this. We went through an identical mindset at the Space Station Freedom Program Office in 1993. Something we had worked very hard on was taken away from us - unfairly, so we believed....

• Posted The Politics Behind Opposing Changes at NASA to NASA Watch

  Alabama lawmakers vow to save Constellation moon mission, Huntsville Times "Already, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., plans to use a Feb. 24 hearing to explore the feasibility of continuing with Ares I testing in the hope of developing a "light" version...

• Posted Space Commerce Debate on PBS Tonight to NASA Watch

  Keith's note: Brett Alexander will take on Mike Griffin on PBS Newshour Tonight at 6pm EST Transcript and video, PBS...

• Posted The Merchant 7 to NASA Watch

  NASA's 7 new space pioneers are companies, AP via Forbes "A half century ago the Mercury Seven embodied America's space future. Now it's the merchant seven - space companies for hire. Mimicking a scene 51 years ago when the Mercury...