| Article: 1839
From: [email protected] (WILLIAM HARWOOD, UPI Science Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.usa,clari.tw.space,clari.news.lifestyle
Subject: NASA chief Truly steps down
Date: 12 Feb 92 22:32:43 GMT
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) -- NASA Administrator Richard Truly, a
former shuttle pilot who helped rebuild the space agency after the
Challenger disaster, said Wednesday he was resigning at the request of
the White House -- a request that came ``like a bolt out of the blue.''
``I don't understand any of this,'' Truly told United Press
International by telephone from Washington shortly after his resignation
was announced. ``It came like a bolt out of the blue. I'm worried about
the agency and its future, but here we are.''
Truly's departure is effective April 1. Whether any other NASA
officials also plan to step down in the days ahead was not immediately
known.
In New Hampshire, where President Bush was campaigning Wednesday,
White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater said, ``Truly has resigned
for personal reasons. The president has accepted his resignation and
praised him for his service.''
Sources said Truly was called to the White House Monday night and
that Bush requested his resignation. In a letter to Bush dated Feb. 10,
Truly said he would step down effective April 1, ``as we discussed when
we met today (Monday).''
``It is with the deepest regret that I submit this letter of
resignation as the Administrator of NASA,'' Truly wrote in the letter,
released Wednesday by NASA. ``This action will conclude almost 37 years
of continuous military and government service for me.''
Truly's resignation came amid reports of an ongoing rift
between him and the National Space Council, chaired by Vice President
Dan Quayle. But Fitzwater said he was unaware of any dispute between
the NASA administrator and Quayle.
David Beckwith, the vice president's press secretary said ``no
comment'' to reports of problems between Truly and the space council.
``The vice president,'' he added, ``has the utmost respect and
appreciation for his service to NASA and the country for the last 37 years.''
In his telephone interview with United Press International, Truly
said he served ``at the pleasure of the president, and here we are.''
``To maintain stability in the agency, I agreed to stay until April
1,'' Truly said. ``I'm proud of what we've accomplished in this agency,
proud that I led a group of people who really deserve all the credit for
where we are today. We're flying a steady flight program, and I'm
leaving with my head up.''
Returning to NASA from the Navy in 1986, Truly helped oversee the
agency's recovery from the Challenger disaster, first as an associate
administrator for space flight and, starting in July 1989, as the
agency's administrator.
While at the helm of NASA, Truly oversaw 20 successful shuttle
missions and the implementation of a wide-ranging management
reorganization designed to eliminate the communications and technical
problems blamed for the Challenger accident.
But his tenure also was marked by bitter fights with Congress and the
science community over the agency's embattled space station project.
The project has suffered repeated redesigns and its cost has
skyrocketed from a predicted $8 billion in 1984 to more than $30 billion
today.
Despite the controversy over the need for such an orbital outpost,
Truly has steadfastly championed the station as a crucial milestone on
the road to future flights to the Moon and Mars, alienating many in the
science community who oppose NASA's plans.
Critics have charged that NASA is throwing good money after bad and
that a $30 billion space station is not needed to provide the kind of
life science and medical data needed before astronauts can be launched
on multi-year flights to Mars or beyond.
Such critics claim NASA could get by with a much more modest effort,
freeing up money for increased spending on unmanned space science,
development of a follow-on spacecraft to replace the aging shuttle fleet
or long-range research and development to pave the way back to the Moon
and on to Mars.
While Truly was widely respected as an honest administrator, many
NASA managers said privately he was an ineffective manager and motivator
and that he was unable to translate NASA's dreams into reality.
Truly first flew in space as co-pilot of the shuttle Columbia, which
blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center Nov. 12, 1981, to kick off the
program's second flight. The mission, originally scheduled to last five
days, was cut to just two after one of the shuttle's three electricity-
producing fuel cells failed.
Truly's second space flight came on Aug. 30, 1983, when he took off
as commander of the shuttle Challenger for the eighth shuttle mission.
During that flight, the first to take off and land at night, Truly's
crew launched an Indian communications satellite and conducted a number
of experiments.
In September 1983, Truly, promoted to rear admiral, left NASA to
become the first commander of Naval Space Command at Dahlgren, Va.
He returned to the space agency to become associate administrator for
spaceflight in 1986 and three years later, he was named administrator
after the late James Fletcher resigned.
Truly graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1959 with
a degree in aeronautical engineering, receiving a commission in the Navy
through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps.
After completing flight training in 1960, he served aboard the USS
Intrepid and the USS Enterprise, completing more than 300 aircraft
carrier landings before attending the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot
School at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
From 1965 to September 1969, when he joined NASA as an astronaut,
Truly was assigned to the Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL), a
military space station that never made it off the drawing board because
of tight budgets.
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| Copied without permision from the Boston Globe Editorial Page.
Friday, February 14, 1992
LOST IN SPACE
The surprise "resignation" of Richard Truly as head of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration is a discouraging indication of the Bush
Administration's lack of commitment to maximum support for scientific research.
When the Senate takes up confimation of Truly's yet-to-be-selected successor,
it might use the occasion to test the real intentions of the administration in
this cutting-edge field.
NASA's improvement under Truly's leadership which began in the wake of the
Challenger Shuttle disaster, has been conspicuous, though not without its short-
comings. The crucial issue, however, lies outside any specific aspect of the
space program and more in its overall direction. Truly's conflicts with the
National Space Council, headed by Vice President Quayle, over the adequacy of
funding for scientific projects lies at the heart of the problem.
The signs are not encouraging. The administation appears to prefer more
spectacular aspects of the space program, including an accelerated project
for putting human beings on Mars. Although that project coupled with the
creation of a permanent station on the moon, may have long-term merit, it is
postponable, and its value should be appraised against the potential loss of
resources for other endeavers.
Truly\s departure casts doubt on the way that appraisal will be made. NASA
is expected to outline its budget priorities to Congress soon, and the
impending absence of Truly - he will remain in his post until April 1 - means
the agency may lack a forceful voice in emphasizing the need for projects with
broad scientific potential.
America's space program has an important role to play in the understanding
of the solar system and the universe. The ending of the Cold War opens up the
possibility of diverting resources from space warfare to creative exploration
- provided the administrateion opts for science over spectacle.
posted by Mike Hughes
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| Article: 1856
From: [email protected]
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.urgent
Subject: Bush appoints TRW executive as NASA chief
Date: 11 Mar 92 22:01:26 GMT
WASHINGTON (UPI) -- President Bush Wednesday nominated aerospace
executive Daniel Goldin to head the National Aeronautics and Space
Agency, replacing Adm. Richard Truly, who was abruptly forced to resign
last month.
At a news conference Wednesday, Bush called Goldin ``a leader in
America's space industry'' who will ``ensure America's leadership in
space as we enter the 21st century.''
Goldin was a research scientist for NASA's Lewis Research Center,
where he worked on electric propulsion systems for human interplanetary
travel.
As vice president and general manager of the TRW Space and Technology
Group, Goldin managed the development and production of the nation's
most advanced spacecraft.
During his tenure, TRW has built 12 spacecraft that continue to
operate in orbit. TRW said that since Goldin assumed the position at TRW
in 1987, the space shuttle has deployed more TRW-built spacecraft than
those built by any other manufacturer.
Bush said he expects Goldin, pending Senate confirmation, to help the
country establish a space station ``by the end of the decade.''
Truly was forced out largely because he clashed with Vice President
Dan Quayle, chairman of the National Space Council, over the space
agency's emphasis.
Sen. Al Gore, D-Tenn., chairman of the Senate subcommittee that will
consider Goldin's nomination, questioned the relationship Goldin would
have with the Space Council.
Truly, Gore said, ``was fired because he refused to take direction
from the Space Council, which operates out of the White House and is not
accountable to Congress, on the fundamental direction of our nation's
space program.''
``It is reasonable to assume,'' Gore said in a statement, ``that one
reason Dan Goldin is being nominated is that he will take direction from
the Space Council.''
Gore said such a situation might put the space program at odds with
Congress, which must appropriate money for its operations. ``If we
approve NASA's budget,'' he said, ``we may be scrambling to find money
for programs that will be substantially modified of junked ... because
they are not on the Space Council's agenda.''
Goldin played a major role in the development of NASA's successful
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory satellite, built by TRW, and an advanced
military communications satellite system called Milstar.
How effective he will be defending NASA's manned space programs
remains to be seen.
In interviews with United Press International and other news
organizations last month, Truly made it clear he did not step down
voluntarily, telling UPI, ``I'm worried about the agency and its future.''
Bush credited Truly Wednesday with making an outstanding contribution
to the nation.
But acknowledging the Quayle-Truly clash, Bush pointedly said Goldin
and Quayle would work consult closely.
``Working with the vice president, who is chairman of the space
council, Dan Goldin will ensure America's leadership in space as we
enter the 21st century,'' Bush said.
``America's taken great pride in the achievement of astronauts and
our space scientists and now the genius of that program must focus on
new initiatives for the '90s,'' Bush said at a news conference to
announce Goldin's nomination.
``We intend to deploy a space station by the end of this decade. We
must develop a new launch system that augments the space shuttle, a new
system that can carry payloads, which will give America superiority and
flexibility in commerical as well as scientific fields,'' he said.
Goldin would take over at a difficult time for NASA, with debate on
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's proposed $15 billion
budget under way in Washington.
A major item on the agenda is $2.25 billion for the agency's
embattled space station project. Lawmakers tried but failed to kill the
project last year and another bitter fight appears likely this year.
NASA plans to begin building space station Freedom in 1996. But the
project has suffered repeated redesigns and its cost has skyrocketed
from a predicted $8 billion in 1984 to more than $30 billion today.
Despite the controversy over the need for such an orbital outpost,
Truly steadfastly championed the station as a crucial milestone on the
road to future flights to the Moon and Mars, alienating many in the
science community who oppose NASA's plans.
Critics have charged that a $30 billion space station is not needed
and that NASA could get by with a much more modest outpost to provide
the kind of medical and life science data needed for future flights to
the Moon and Mars.
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