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NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said in an interview today that his decision to reassign Bill Gerstenmaier and Bill Hill was not abrupt, but reflected the growing concern that cost and schedule estimates for systems needed for the Artemis program were unrealistic. Stressing repeatedly the need to respect the White House's goal of sending astronauts back to the moon by 2024, it is now about "realism" and he believes that new leadership is needed to reevaluate programs and establish new baselines, if necessary.
On Wednesday night, Bridenstine announced that Gerstenmaier, the associate director of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission (HEOMD), and Hill, the Assistant Deputy Administrator of Exploration Systems Development, had have been reassigned to Senior Adviser positions within the agency.
Hill was responsible for NASA's new large rocket development program, the Space Launch System (SLS), the Orion crew space shuttle, and associated ground-based exploration systems to send astronauts on the Moon and beyond. He reported to Gerstenmaier, who oversaw all NASA manned flight activities, including International Space Station programs and commercial crews.
In an interview with SpacePolicyOnline.com this afternoon, Bridenstine has praised Gerstenmaier's 42 years of "extraordinary service" to NASA and credited him with having the plan achieve the goal of the Moon by 2024. He also insisted that Gerstenmaier would continue to serve NASA and that his assignment as special advisor to the Deputy Administrator, Jim Morhard, it's only a "detail awaiting reallocation".
Emphasizing that it was his own decision, not ordered by the White House, he pointed to a series of reports released several years ago by NASA's Inspector General (IG) and the Office of Government Accountability ( GAO), weakening his confidence in Gerstenmaier's ability to execute the plan.
Gerstenmaier testified in front of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee on Wednesday morning and nothing seemed to happen, but a few hours later, around 8:30 pm, Bridenstine sent a note to employees to announce it. . He surprised the space community, including the leaders of the committee.
Today, Bridenstine insisted that the decision was not abrupt and that no single factor had prompted action Wednesday. It was rather the result of growing concerns and the desire to "not waste time".
Both the IG and GAO reports criticized NASA's schedule and cost estimates as unrealistic. With the approach of 2024, he now needs "realism" and, for him, from new leaders.
"We absolutely have to commit ourselves to the costs and the schedule. … The more we wait with schedule and cost issues, the more difficult it becomes. "
He plans to act quickly to find successors and announced a national search yesterday. Their first task will be to take a fresh look at the programs and the "redesign necessary to achieve the goals".
Asked what will happen if they say it is impossible to reach the moon by 2024, he replied:
"We can do it in 2024. I am convinced that we can. The question is the commitment to be realistic. … Milestones matter when you try to set up a program to land on the moon in 2024. Milestones matter. If these milestones at the beginning of the process are not realistic, milestones at the end of the process will not be. So we have to make sure that the system is realistic and that we can plan accordingly through program management so that we can put the right things in place at the right time. – Jim Bridenstine, NASA Administrator.
A short-term question is whether or not to perform the "Green Run" test on the SLS main floor or skip it to save time. A decision was expected for June, but Bridenstine announced today that he would wait for the new team to have a chance to get going. He thinks it is "very likely" that a test of the Green Run will take place, but Run "will be determined by the new direction of HEOMD.
Last updated: July 12, 2019 at 6:27 pm ET
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