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| NASA’s Troubles Goldin Admits Agency Tried to Do Too Much With Too Little  NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin speaks during testimony on Capitol Hill, March 22, 2000, before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Goldin commented on the recent string of errors which have plagued the agency. (Win McNamee/Reuters) By Paul Recer The Associated Press W A S H I N G T O N, March 23 — NASA, trying to do more missions with less money and fewer people, made management mistakes that contributed to a string of recent failures in space, says the chief of the agency. “We probably cut too tight” in reducing the NASA work force from 25,000 to 18,500 over the last seven years, Daniel S. Goldin, NASA’s administrator, told the Senate Commerce subcommittee on space Wednesday. “We found we were really too thin.” Expertise Gap Goldin said the agency lost many veteran engineers over those years, and there was inadequate training and mentoring for young, inexperienced workers who were hired. Additionally, he said, there was a failure in communication between engineers and technicians doing the work and the management personnel overseeing it. “There was no good communication feedback,” Goldin said. “People were talking and we weren’t hearing them.” Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., chairman of the subcommittee, said he called the hearing to get an explanation for what he called a “very difficult” year for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. During 1999, two NASA probes to Mars were lost without a trace; shuttle missions were delayed because of damaged or troublesome equipment; workers accidentally threw away tanks built for the International Space Station, and an urgent mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope was required. “For $14 billion a year, the American taxpayers deserve better,” said Frist. Management Mishaps Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. said that in reports examining the 1999 problems of NASA “the extent of mismanagement ... is very startling. “Over the past year, I have continually been amazed by the reports coming out of NASA about mission failures and program delays,” said McCain. In his response, Goldin said that since 1992 NASA has launched 146 payloads valued at $18 billion and experienced only 10 failures, worth about $500 million. He acknowledged that NASA had “some severe disappointments and problems” in 1999, but added: “We are paying close attention to these failures, examining them, searching for root causes, and recommending changes.” Implementing New Philosophy One reason for the problems, said Goldin, is a change in the culture at NASA. Whereas once the agency mounted only a few missions at great expense, it is now emphasizing a “faster, better, cheaper” philosophy that calls for more, but smaller and less costly missions. In earlier years, NASA launched two planetary probes a decade, each costing billions of dollars, he said. Now the agency is sending missions to other planets each year at a fraction of the cost. But the new management philosophy does have flaws, including stressed, overworked employees who lack the experience or the time to do jobs properly, said Goldin. “Somehow, it is not working,” said Frist. “I agree,” said Goldin. The administrator said NASA is in the process of hiring 2,000 new workers, establishing a formal training program for young engineers, and conducting a top-to-bottom evaluation of the space agency systems. Fatal Flaw in Mars Lander Goldin was repeatedly asked about a report from United Press International that NASA engineers knew of a rocket engine flaw in a Mars-bound probe. The report said that NASA conducted flawed tests on ground models of the rocket engines, and then tried to cover up information about the problems. The Mars probe disappeared after firing its braking rockets while approaching the Red Planet. “There are very, very great irregularities in that press report,” said Goldin. He said the rocket problems were identified and discussed publicly a month before the mission failure. He said that engineers conducted honest tests, and that they believed the problem was solved. The subcommittee also asked Goldin about a press story that a report critical of the agency was being withheld until it could be evaluated by the White House. Goldin denied this, saying that the report will be released next week. He said the report has not been changed by NASA and that the White House is not involved. Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |