- \n
- Constellation Forum Sections<\/li>\n
- L2 Ares\/Orion Sections (over several hundred gbs in size)<\/li>\n
- Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The losses are the result of the current end date planned for the Space Shuttle Program (SSP), Constellation milestones continually slipping to the right, a slow down in MOD workers moving on in their careers, and budget constraints imposed on NASA by lawmakers.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me remind you what our priorities are, what the focus is for MOD management, and the types of things that guide us,\u201d noted Mr Hill in his opening remarks. \u201cFirst, on the mission, it\u2019s about MOD continuing to be bullet-proof steely-eyed missile men and women.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about mission prep, training, execution, doing the right thing for the programs that are relying on us, and more importantly the men and women who are betting their lives on us being good at what we do. That hasn\u2019t changed, that remains the thing that drives us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noting the need to ensure MOD provides value for money throughout the remainder of the shuttle and ISS programs \u2013 and through to the work on Constellation \u2013 Mr Hill moved on to the fallout for MOD based on the downstream budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the bean counters amongst us, it means our operating plan has to come in on budget. We have to have plans that are capable of doing the work in the budget we are given, this year, next year and all future years,\u201d Mr Hill continued.<\/p>\n
Rocket building kits
<\/path>NASA mission updates <\/path>NASA educational resources <\/path>\n (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the charts I\u2019m going to show you are budget related, which I think is kinda a sad event \u2013 I\u2019d much rather be talking about rocket science.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"y2\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/y2.jpg\" "\\"y2\\"")
One chart in particular showed the reason for the job losses, with a hole in the post shuttle budget impacting on MOD funding, an impact that the previously expected attrition rate was expected to counter.<\/p>\n\u201cThis red part here is the shuttle program budget \u2013 and it\u2019s no mystery to anyone that at the end of FY (Financial Year) 10 the shuttle budget drops off to nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe green bar is our Space Station budget. The yellow bar is the Constellation development budget, and in the blue is our Constellation plan\/train\/fly budget. So this gives you an idea of our budget as it transitions from FY08 to FY12.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe (most) significant thing to notice is the hole we see in the white space. For those of you that talked to me five months or so ago, you\u2019d of heard me \u2013 or you\u2019d of heard the management team \u2013 saying things like \u2018our attrition is generally steeper than the reduction in our budget\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn non-bean counter speak, our expectations until around five months ago was that as our budget \u201ctrailed off\u201d at the end of the shuttle program going into Constellation, (so) the transition happened slowly enough that our natural attrition was actually higher. So we were still hiring folks to make up the difference when we came down this slope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now that the previous plan \u2013 which involved no workforce reduction \u2013 is not longer viable with a large reduction in the current attrition rate, MOD will have to dismiss hundreds of it staff to stay on budget \u2013 a budget Mr Hill confirmed has been under strain due to an increase in Constellation costs, at a time the overall budget has been reduced.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Constellation budget, and some of their milestones, have slipped out to the right. Also with the economy, our attrition rate has dropped off \u2013 from 12 percent to 3.5 percent, significant change. The upshot of this is that 15 months from today MOD is going to be 600 people smaller.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the next couple of months, we have a problem making sure we can come in on plan for FY10. So the more current news is by September of this year, MOD will have to have a workforce reduction of between 60 and 80 folks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next couple of years are going to be tough on all of us, and we have known this for some time. It doesn\u2019t surprise any of us that the shuttle program is coming to an end. Going through that is going to be a difficult time for all of us.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust to put it into perspective, I said by October 2010 MOD will be about 600 people smaller, shuttle program wide they are looking at a number that is closer to 11,000. This is going to be a tough year for the human space flight community.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"y3\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/y3.jpg\" "\\"y3\\"")
Out of MOD\u2019s 3000 workers, 600 jobs losses comes in at 20 percent total. However, 500 of the 3000 are civil servants \u2013 and won\u2019t be subject to the losses. And out of the remaining 2500 MOD contractors, 1200 work on shuttle \u2013 which is the main target for the jobs cuts, meaning around half of the MOD Shuttle contractor workforce will lose their jobs in just over a year.<\/p>\nHowever, Mr Hill still hopes such large jobs losses may be avoided, based on the current plan, versus the findings of the Augustine Commission review \u2013 which may, for example, recommend to lawmakers that the shuttle program is extended by one, two or even four years. Sources note shuttle extension is now a major player at the commission.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are things that could change that plan. Augustine panel is expected to come back and report in the late August timeframe. Their recommendations and the effect they have on the White House, Congress and national space policy could relate to budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe might see some of those technical milestones driven back to the left, which would fill in some of that white space in the FY10, FY11 timeframe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Hill also noted the potential for a swift improvement in the economy, which may \u201cafford the opportunities\u201d that were previously available outside of MOD and NASA to return for the workforce, allowing the attrition rate to rise \u2013 reducing the impact of the upcoming job losses.<\/p>\n
![\"y4\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/y4.jpg\" "\\"y4\\"")
The most interesting element of Mr Hill\u2019s speech related to what he believes is the future direction of MOD and the Agency as a whole, again making reference to the ongoing Augustine Commission<\/p>\n\u201cIf I had some read of the tea leafs, even unofficially on what I thought was going to happen, if we had some indication on where that was going to go, I\u2019d be telling you. Fact is, that\u2019s still some kind of an open map,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cPersonally, I have strong confidence that we\u2019re not going to be cancelling a follow on program. We\u2019re not going to cancel the ISS program, that we\u2019ll fly out shuttle and be done with human space flight \u2013 which would, no kidding, by the worst case (scenario).\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Hill made no direct reference to Ares throughout his 30 minute address, and went further by noting he isn\u2019t sure what the \u201cfollow on\u201d program will be \u2013 just his confidence there will be one.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am confident we will have a follow on program at the end of the shuttle program. Now, what that program is going to be, it\u2019ll be interesting to see what the Augustine panel reports. It\u2019ll be interesting to see what the White House and the Congressional response to that is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert Lightfoot Address:<\/p>\n
Addressing the MSFC workforce, Mr Lightfoot also made reference to the Augustine Commission, speaking of his confident in the outcome of the panel\u2019s \u201cthorough review\u201d on Ares \u2013 a vehicle that is major part of Marshall\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Titled \u201cWe will continue the path we\u2019re on\u201d \u2013 the e-mailed address had an overly positive tone throughout, but did concede there may be \u201cchanges\u201d to NASA\u2019s \u201cexploration goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"y5\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/y5.jpg\" "\\"y5\\"")
\u201cAn independent review of NASA\u2019s human spaceflight activities has started with a goal of providing options that will ensure that the nation\u2019s human spaceflight program remains safe, innovative and affordable in the years following the space shuttle\u2019s retirement,\u201d Mr Lightfoot noted.<\/p>\n\u201cThe panel will examine Constellation and possible alternatives, working closely with NASA and seeking input from the Congress, the White House, the public, industry and our international partners.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe results of the review will support an administration decision by August 2009 on how to proceed. NASA may provide a budget update to the Office of Management and Budget reflecting any changes to the administration\u2019s exploration goals resulting from the review.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe review panel is led by one of the most experienced leaders in the aerospace industry, Norman Augustine. Dr. Michael Hawes, associate administrator of NASA\u2019s Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation, will lead NASA\u2019s team supporting the review. With Norm\u2019s and Mike\u2019s leadership, I\u2019m confident that it will be a thorough review.\u201d<\/p>\n
Interestingly, Mr Lightfoot overview of the downstream budget showed the major difference between Marshall\u2019s future and that of MODs, with no mention of job losses for MSFC.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe budget also confirms the great confidence that NASA continues to place in us. Marshall\u2019s FY2010 budget request is $2.9 billion \u2013 a 10 percent increase over FY2009 and one of the largest budgets in NASA. It\u2019s clear that Marshall will continue to be NASA\u2019s \u2018go to\u2019 Center for designing and developing space and launch systems to support the Agency\u2019s science, operations and exploration missions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stressing the center will continue on the current plan, Mr Lightfoot outlined forward work on both Ares I and Ares V, despite the futures of both vehicles very much in the balance.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on the work assigned to us, we will thus continue the path we\u2019re on, focusing on six priorities: Flying the space shuttle as safely as possible until its retirement. Supporting completion of the ISS and manage science payloads.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeveloping the Ares I rocket for Initial Operational Capacity. Continuing planning for Ares V. Managing the Lunar Quest program, including work on GRAIL, LADEE and the International Lunar Network. Continuing science and instrument development efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a busy time for us. We\u2019ll continue to justify the tremendous confidence that NASA and our nation have placed in us. As long as we fly in space, the Marshall Center is going to be involved in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
L2 members<\/em><\/em>: Documentation \u2013 from which the above article has quoted snippets \u2013 is available in full in the related L2 sections, now over 4000 gbs in size.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) Director Paul Hill has attempted to rally his troops, following the announcement of six hundred job losses \u2013 whilst noting his belief there will at least be a \u201cfollow on program\u201d in the human space flight future, post-shuttle. MSFC acting director Robert Lightfoot also addressed his workforce, noting the center will be involved […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9167,8184],"class_list":["post-41054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-mod","tag-sls-orion"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41054"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}