Management at NASA

[jeff10]

NASA badly needs to get its management problems sorted out. Employees are too scared to speak out. See "Shuttle a deathtrap, says astronaut" in Britain's Observer newspaper - http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1692139,00.html<br /><br />Also read this paper which uses NASA as a case study: "Why your boss is programmed to be a dictator" <br />http://www.changethis.com/19.BossDictator<br /><br />Unless the management structure is fixed, we're going to continue to see some serious problems.

 

[najab]

<i>"You walk in terrified of doing anything that might jeopardise your one chance to get to space,' Mullane said <b>in an interview to promote his new book...</b>"</i><br /><br />I'd be a bit more interested if he weren't trying to make a buck off of this...<img src="/images/icons/rolleyes.gif" /><br /><br />

 

[jeff10]

I guess if you quit a NASA job, there's little else you can do but plug your books!

 

[CalliArcale]

No, there's lots than can be done. Many astronauts have gone on to profitable careers in the private sector. Their names and experience count for a lot -- but their connections count for even more. (Many high-ranking military personnel follow a similar path when they retire.) And then there's John Glenn, of course, who went on to a successful political career.<br /><br />Of course, some astronauts have an active engineering career even before they apply to become astronaut candidates. After their stint, they may return to that career. A few are medical doctors, and of course that's a profession that always has business somewhere. That's always a growth industry, what with all the babies coming into the world. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />Some go into academia. Colleges and universities may enjoy being able to advertise having an astronaut on staff, and if not, they still have valuable things to teach. Most (if not all) have advanced degrees and can get into academia if they're inclined to do so. Scientist astronauts may particularly appreciate this, as it means they don't have to stop researching.<br /><br />And, of course, some go onto the public speaking circuit, and/or write books. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[mlorrey]

If he weren't making a buck off it, the media people would not report on the story. Most reporters are terribly lazy. I don't know how many press releases I've put out that have been essentially ripped off, word for word, by reporters 'authoring' the story. They swap some paragraphs around to rearrange it, maybe alter some quotes to slant the story in the direction they want, but essentially most of the news copy you read and watch on tv is actually written by PR people.

 

[spacester]

Supposing you were an ex-Astronaut and you wanted to tell the American People something you thought was important.<br /><br />What would you do besides write a book?<br /><br />Supposing you write a book, are you NOT going to do the book-signing tour thing?<br /><br />Yeah, he's probably making money off it . . . s'ok with me, <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /><br /><br />EDIT:<br />I rarely edit for content and I never erase anything I've posted, but I'm not so sure I'm ready to give this the guy the benefit of the doubt. I hadn't read the other thread on him. My point stands in terms of the fact that "the system" is such that even an astronaut of the highest character is pretty much obligated to doing the interview tour thing. But I'm seeing yellow flags as far as this guy being one of those guys.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[jeff10]

I think it's important that astronauts put these things out in the public domain. Otherwise, things will get swept under the carpet. I really don't mind if they make a few bucks while they're doing this. As long as what they say is verifiable truth, what's the problem? If they were lying, I"m sure NASA would come down on them like a ton of bricks. <br /><br />My point is, the system needs to be changed, so we don't have any more of this. It's terrible if NASA staff are living in fear of telling the truth.