Groundhog Day on Mars

摘要

In the spring, a call went out from the White House to noted aerospace executive Norm Augustine to assemble a committee to take a look at NASA and in particular the human spaceflight program proposed by President Bush. The White House was concerned about the plan itself, how NASA was managing it, what impact it had on the rest of NASA's programs and whether resources and programmatics were properly aligned. Perhaps most important, the White House was seeking blue-ribbon direction and political cover for making some hard choices about the future of America's space program. Augustine answered the call and the challenge. I know, because I made the call. The year was 1990.