But Congress first must approve new lunar plans, Sean O'Keefe tells crowd
04/01/04
Marshall Space Flight Center, along with North Alabama, will play a vital role if Congress approves NASA's plans for lunar and space exploration, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said Wednesday.
O'Keefe addressed about 1,000 people from the National Space Club during the 16th Annual Dr. Wernher von Braun Memorial Celebration at the Von Braun Center. The dinner is part of the Technological Excellence in Aviation, Missiles and Space Week conference here this week.
O'Keefe spoke about the challenges facing America in returning to the moon, developing more powerful spacecraft and returning the space shuttle to flight.
The public, aerospace experts and some members of Congress have complained for years about America's lack of focus in space policy. O'Keefe said those days are over; the focus is there.
"We were asked to step up with a vision," O'Keefe told the audience. "Now, it is up to Congress to approve it."
The multiyear plan, which adds about $11 billion to the space agency's budget over the next decade, starts with a proposed $16.2 billion for fiscal 2005.
O'Keefe said the plan would generate new technologies and cost about $50 per taxpayer per year. "That's a bargain for what you will receive in return," he said.
The first part of the vision, announced by President Bush in January, is to return the space shuttle to flight and to complete the International Space Station.
O'Keefe said Marshall expertise will help return the shuttle to space. The shuttle has been grounded since the Feb. 1, 2003, Columbia accident that killed its seven-member crew when the orbiter broke up on re-entry.
O'Keefe praised Marshall's role in several projects, including the $650 million Gravity Probe B that will study Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which says massive objects may distort space and time.
An "integral component" for space exploration plans is Project Prometheus, NASA's research efforts to design nuclear-powered spacecraft. "Marshall will have a dominant role in that," O'Keefe said.
NASA managers have high hopes the nuclear power generation and propulsion work at Marshall will lead into the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, set for launch around 2012.
NASA hopes to design a spacecraft that can orbit a planet and then change its position and move from moon to moon. O'Keefe said many NASA planet probes complete "one single fly-by and then everything better work during this single event, or it was all for nothing."
The Von Braun Memorial Dinner each year honors several people for their contributions in aerospace. The 2004 winners:
Renee Snell Merritt, a science teacher at Wicksburg High School in Newton, received the Aerospace Educator Award for her work in encouraging students and her innovative teaching.
Bob G. Noblitt, a member of the Sci-Quest board and a TEAMS conference organizer, was given the Community Service Award for 40 years of community service.
Dr. Paul M. Munafo, temporary deputy director of NASA's Engineering and Safety Center, was given the Astronautics Engineer Award for his 40 years of work in the aerospace industry and his efforts in leading a team to study the space shuttle's external tank and its role in the Columbia disaster. Munafo has worked at Marshall since 1975.
William M. Congo received the Media Award for his work in promoting space and missile defense issues. Congo runs the Army Space and Missile Defense Command's public affairs office in Huntsville.
Retired Adm. Harold W. Gehman Jr. received the Space Flight Trophy for his efforts in leading the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. In seven months, the board discovered the problem that caused the destruction of the Columbia orbiter and made detailed recommendations on what NASA should do to keep from repeating the mistakes that caused the traged