Obama outsourced manned spaceflight
..............I have a lot of facilities that we, NASA, no longer need, Robert Cabana, NASA Kennedy Space Center director and a four-time space shuttle flier, told the Washington Post in February. I dont have the money to maintain them, I dont have the money to tear them down. Theyre just going to sit and rot.
Cabana was frustrated with NASA administrations inability to adapt, "explained" Joyce Riquelme, director of center planning and development directorate at Kennedy.
We do have facilities that are unused or underutilized as a result of the shuttle program shutting down, she told FoxNews.com.".............
.................A prime example is Hangar One, a Silicon Valley landmark built in the 30s and one of the worlds largest free-standing structures. In April, NASA said it was working to dispose of it.
Leasing Hangar One is illegal, according to current policy, since theres no immediate need for the vast space. Yet selling it would be a dire hit to Silicon Valley and even national security, many warn.
The very vitality and future of NASA Ames as a center is at risk, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group said in May.
The facility is currently being cleaned up by the original tenant, the Navy, according to Scott Anderson, environmental coordinator for the former Naval Air Station. In mid-November, NASA will take over again -- but what happens then is anyones guess.
NASA is responsible for residing the hangar, paying for the cost to reside the hangar, and making any additional upgrades and repairs necessary to prepare the hangar for reuse, Anderson told FoxNews.com.
Google -- one of the largest tenants of NASA properties -- has offered to pay for tens of millions for that work and to rent the structure through H211 LLC, a private plane operator linked to the search giant.
The status of that offer is unclear.
NASA has made improvements to its leasing program in recent years, Martin wrote in his report. Riquelme agreed that headway was, at last, being made.
In the next three to four months, youll see several interesting things come out that will show progress, she told FoxNews.com."........
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Those working to save Moffett Field's historic Hangar One have taken note of reports that Pete Worden, the director of Mountain View's NASA Ames Research Center, may be on his way out.
"Multiple sources report that NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden is planning to fire or reassign Worden and two other center directors as well," reported longtime NASA watchdog Keith Cowing of nasawatch.com.
William Berry, former assistant director at Ames, said the report was a backdrop for the fight to save Hangar One, calling it "clear indication that NASA HQ wants to fire Pete Worden in some part for his support of Hangar One."
Worden has spoken publicly in support of reusing the former airship hangar for a modern airship being developed by the U.S. Department of Defense...