Managing the Space Sciences (1995) / Chapter Skim
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2 Science at NASA
2 Science at NASA
Pages 9-26
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From page 9... ...
This first space science mission discovered the Van Allen radiation belts and began an uninterrupted period of extraordinary discovery and scientific advance that continues today. Through its commitment to the Space Act goals, NASA ushered in an age of discovery in space science and astronomy.
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From page 10... ...
From Apollo photographs of the Earth as a blue marble to the recent Shuttlebased radar images of rain tracks in the Midwest or ancient drainage structures under Middle Eastern deserts, the space perspective has revolutionized our understanding of atmosphenc, oceanic, and land processes. We have measured centimeter-scale distortions of the Earth's crust associated with plate tectonics; detected and understood the polar ozone holes; begun to understand the dynamics and chemistry of the stratosphere and upper atmosphere; correlated climate variations with the Pacific El Nino and with major volcanic eruptions; learned to use satellite radiometry to estimate global atmospheric temperature and moisture profiles; bounded solar variability; measured the components of the Earth's radiation budget; and used satellite observations to validate greatly improved atmospheric models for prediction of weather and climate.
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From page 11... ...
Field centers report to institutional associate administrators, who may or may not be the same as the program associate administrator for the 4NASA, Management of Major System Programs and Projects Handbook, NASA Handbook 7120.5, November 22, 1993.
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From page 12... ...
Table 2.1 shows, for each of the four main science programs, the responsible program office, the field centers responsible for major elements of that program, and the institutional offices for the centers involved. There is considerable "cross-involvement," that is, major science activity in a center reporting institutionally to a Headquarters office other than that responsible for the program.
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From page 13... ...
From 1963 through 1974 the OSSA associate administrator controlled all the elements essential to the management of space sciences, that is, the science program content, the budget, the transportation system, and the institutions involved. Even tracking and data acquisition, though the
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From page 14... ...
The mapping of NASA's three major science offices and their flight projects and research programs into the strategic enterprises is straightforward: the Office of Space Science into the Space Science Enterprise; the Office of Mission to Planet Earth into the Mission to Planet Earth Enterprise; and the Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications into the Human Exploration and Development of Space Enterprise, which it shares with the Office of Space Flight. These two program offices share Human Exploration and Development Enterprise leadership.
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From page 15... ...
While there is some move toward consolidation of individual science programs at fewer centers, there is little likelihood that programs will be so concentrated as to be conducted exclusively at one or more centers dedicated solely to that program. In particular, Earth science, astrophysics, and space physics are all expected to remain major elements at GSFC, a center reporting institutionally to OMTPE; at the same time, no center reports institutionally to OLMSA, in spite of its life and microgravity science programs.
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From page 16... ...
Budgets and management of the former are submerged within specific flight projects, while ATD projects appear under ATD accounts in OSS and OLMSA. OMTPE does not have a separate ATD account.
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From page 17... ...
funds allocated directly for space science programs as defined for the present study, that is, traditional space science, Earth science, and life and Microgravity sciences. Space Science Support includes those costs from other budget categories that may be attributed to support of space science; they include an appropriate portion of civil service personnel, expendable vehicle launch, facilities, and tracking costs, as estimated by NASA.
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From page 18... ...
Funding, $M 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1 000 500 Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications R&D //;~net Earth R&D Traditional Space Science R&D (Astrophysics, Space Physics, Solar System Exploration) 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 0 Fiscal Year FIGURE 2.3 NASA funding for Space Science R&D components (constant 1994 dollars; FY 1996 and beyond are projections from FY 1996 Administration budget)
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Figure 2.5 shows Space Science R&D and Total Space Sciences (defined as the sum of Space Sciences R&D and Support) as a percentage of the total NASA budget for the same years as displayed in the other figures.
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From page 20... ...
. FY 1992 budget data are based on the OSSA divisions that existed at that time, prior to the establishment of separate NASA Offices for Space Science, Mission to Planet Earth, and Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications.
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From page 21... ...
Figure 2.7 shows that during this same period OSAT has shifted its funding to near-term needs from far-term needs. The total funding for FY 1995 devoted to advanced technology development, demonstration, and infusion related to the space sciences is clearly increased over that in 1992, but is not convincingly adequate to support NASA's current goals for rapidly developing and infusing new technologies into flight missions.
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From page 22... ...
. All of the space sciences are represented among these agreements, with particular emphasis on cooperative endeavors in astrophysics, space physics, and solar system exploration with ESA and its member nations, as well as with Russia and Japan.
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From page 23... ...
are the staff responsibility of the Defense Affairs Division of the Office of External Relations. Because of the policy nature of international and interagency agreements and the growing mandate for international collaboration, responsibility for these agreements appears to be a necessary Headquarters function.
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From page 24... ...
Prior to reaching the associate administrator for decision, AO proposals must also be reviewed by an internal NASA program review panel, which considers not only scientific merit but also programmatic factors. NASA's science program involves one feature, major flight projects, not present in the programs of the other three agencies.
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From page 25... ...
These major flight projects are somewhat analogous to major NSF and DOE facility projects. In NASA the scientists at its field centers generally compete with scientists from the outside, both for flight investigations and for ground-based research, and their proposals face the same peer review.
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From page 26... ...
In both areas, NASA exercises field center capabilities in carrying out technology projects, either as in-house projects or through contracts with outside sources. The exploratory technology program of OSAT most nearly resembles the ARPA program in purpose advancement of potentially high payoff technologies for future space missions.
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