The New York Times > Opinion > A New Leader's Thoughts on NASA

The New York Times > Opinion > A New Leader's Thoughts on NASA: "April 18, 2005
April 18, 2005
A New Leader's Thoughts on NASA

The Bush administration's choice to lead the National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Michael Griffin - sailed through the confirmation process last week.

In hearings before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, only Senator George Allen of Virginia was churlish enough to raise concerns about cuts in the aeronautics budget that could lead to job losses in his home state. The other members seemed intent on whisking Dr. Griffin through as fast as possible so that he could take the helm of the space agency as it prepares to resume shuttle flights. There is little doubt that the agency needs a firm hand at the top as it struggles to rebound from the Columbia tragedy, and Dr. Griffin, who has held a variety of jobs in the aerospace industry, looks eminently qualified.

In his love fest with the senators, Dr. Griffin showed an encouraging independence of mind and a willingness to abandon past NASA decisions that look increasingly myopic. Of immediate importance, he said he would not be bound by the decision of his predecessor, Sean O'Keefe, to abandon as too risky a planned astronaut servicing mission to extend the life of the Hubble Space Telescope, the agency's premier scientific instrument.

Cancellation of the astronaut mission on safety grounds never made much sense. Astronauts have already serviced the telescope several times without incident, and the revamped shuttles should be safer than in the past thanks to upgrades after the Columbia accident.

For the longer term, Dr. Griffin put his finger on a gaping hole in the nation's future space plans that has received little public attention. The aging shuttle fleet is scheduled to be retired in 2010 if not sooner, and the successor, known as the Crew Exploration Vehicle, is not expected to fly before 2014. That leaves a gap of four or more years when the country would have no independent means of sending astronauts aloft. We would be forced to rely on other nations, just as we now rely on Russia to ferry American astronauts to the space station and back. It took the fresh eye of Dr. Griffin to declare it unacceptable that this advanced technological nation, which in past years has developed major new spacecraft in just three to six years, would now dawdle nine years before being ready to launch the new one.

By definition and inclination, Dr. Griffin wholeheartedly supports the president's long-range space exploration plan, which would send astronauts back to the Moon and on to Mars. But he seems to think that NASA has ample funds to pursue more than one mission and calls it crucial to protect the agency's outstanding science programs. The test will come when budgetary choices have to be made.