Posted on 02/09/2005 10:22:24 AM PST by BenLurkin
PALMDALE - NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, historic home to much of the agency's flight test activities, is looking at smaller budgets now and into the future as NASA directs its focus on space exploration. However, the center at Edwards Air Force Base is positioning itself to play a large part in the agency's remaining aeronautics work as well as take on contracts from outside NASA.
In the presidential budget for the 2006 fiscal year unveiled Monday, NASA as a whole was one of the very few federal entities to receive a budget increase next year, up 2.4% to $16.4 billion.
That increase comes as a direct result of the president's space exploration plans announced in January 2004.
"The Vision for Space Exploration remains an administration priority even in this challenging budget environment," said NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe in announcing the budget Monday. "The continued priority for and support of exploration has enabled a gradually growing NASA budget over the next five years. The budget maintains resolute focus on exploration priorities and critical milestones, based on our science priorities."
The news for Dryden was not as promising, with $143 million proposed for 2006, down from $161 million in 2005 and $202 million in 2004.
That trend is expected to continue, dropping to $130 million in 2007, then flattening out at approximately that level through 2010.
Along with the cuts in agency-supplied funding will come a reduction in the civil service and contractor work forces.
Dryden's civil service work force now stands at approximately 540 employees and is expected to be reduced to roughly 514 by the start of the next fiscal year in October, Dryden Director Kevin Petersen said.
The reduction will be specifically directed at optimizing the center's work force to help put it into position to effectively compete for work inside and outside the agency, he said.
The cuts will be achieved first through natural attrition and limited hirings, then buy-outs and early retirement incentives. Such incentives offered at the end of last year resulted in about 25 employees leaving, Petersen said. Another round will likely be offered this month.
Some of the reductions and restructuring of Dryden's work force will also come from transfers to and from other NASA centers, as the entire agency works to find the most efficient mix of skills.
Lay-offs would be used as a last resort.
"Right now at Dryden we don't anticipate having to take forced actions," Petersen said.
Most of Dryden's work - and funding - comes from the aeronautics directorate of NASA, which is itself seeing a smaller piece of the agency pie.
Aeronautics is slated to receive $852 million in 2006, actually a slight increase from 2005's $813 million budget. But the numbers get smaller in the future, with $728 million slated for 2007, dropping to $718 million by 2010.
The 2006 increase in funding goes for aviation safety and security and airspace efficiency projects.
Dryden is further affected by the fact that many of its projects are classified under the heading of vehicle systems, one of three program areas listed under aeronautical research.
That area is undergoing a major restructuring with this new budget, limiting the scope of projects to concentrate on "barrier-breaking" projects that will produce huge steps in technology development.
Dryden already has a history of these high-risk, high-payoff projects, such as the recently concluded X-43A hypersonic scramjet.
"This is right in line with what Dryden has done," Petersen said.
Vehicle Systems will focus on four project areas: subsonic aircraft noise reduction; sonic boom reduction; zero-emission aircraft; and high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft.
"I expect Dryden will be involved in all these efforts at one level or another," Petersen said.
The center already has a hand in several of the projects. Studies to reduce the impact of sonic booms on the ground by changing aircraft shapes were flight-tested at Dryden last year, and the center has decades of experience in high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned vehicles such as the Helios solar-powered aircraft.
One key change to centers' funding across the agency will be the addition of greater competition to bring in additional projects and their attendant funding.
The budget for each center - for instance, Dryden's $161 million this year - is a baseline. Centers then compete for other projects, both from within and outside of NASA.
Dryden has been preparing for this month for more than a year, looking for ways to supplement the agency budget, Petersen said. By the end of fiscal year 2005, the center is expected to add $15 million to $20 million in outside contracts.
Nearly halfway through the year, Dryden has taken in $12 million in outside contracts, such as conducting large-scale loads testing for the Navy's E-2C aircraft.
"I think we have a real opportunity for a bright future," Petersen said.
Dryden officials are also hopeful the center will play a role in the upcoming crew exploration vehicle, expected to begin flight demonstrations in 2008. Ultimately, the CEV will be the centerpiece of the human aspect of the agency's space exploration plans.
Requirements for the technology demonstrator vehicle will be released next month. Several teams have expressed intentions to enter the race for contracts to compete for the project in September, working toward the 2008 "fly-off."
"We're hoping to partner with industry on that to help them with demonstration capabilities," Petersen said.
Has there been any "science payback" made from the ISS?
Not counting how long a person can survive without a re-supply mission.
The ISS is a green hole IMHO. You throw money at it and nothing comes out of it. Let's go to the moon.
"Green Hole".
Always a siginificant danger lurking in space.
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