From: aws@iti.org (Allen W. Sherzer)
Subject: One Small Step... (vol 3 no 4)
Organization: Evil Geniuses for a Better Tomorrow
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 13:32:04 GMT


	              One Small Step for a Space Activist...
                                      by
                            Allen Sherzer & Tim Kyger

In early March there were two important hearings before the House space
Subcommittee. In one Dr. Mike Griffin testified on Lunar/Mars and in the
other Dr. Bill Lenoir and Arnie Aldridge testified on a range of space
transportation topics. The contrast between the two hearings helps to show why
NASA has had problems in the past and why there is hope for the future.

Griffin outlined his current program of three robotic Lunar missions: Two
orbiters and one lander. He gave the cost of all three at $500 million; which
is far less than similar probes. When asked if he would be willing to accept a
cost cap on this effort Griffin replied: "yes". The old NASA management would
never have accepted a cap like this -- or have even been capable of a one
word answer.

Later in the hearing, Dr. Griffin was asked about using the Russian Energia
rocket for SEI. He replied that he was very open to the idea and thought using
a Russian launcher and a US lunar vehicle would work quite well. Although he
wasn't authorized to make official offers Griffin testified that he has, on
his own initiative, spoken with the Russians about Energia and had briefed
them on SEI requirements. When asked about using NLS Griffin said that he
preferred to talk about requirements. He went on to say that he has a
requirement of 400 tons to LEO  as a floor and he will use whatever will do
the job (although he later admitted that NLS wouldn't meet this requirement).

The day before day, Lenoir and Aldridge had testified before the same 
subcommittee. Two of the major subjects discussed were ASRM and NLS.
Testifying about ASRM they stated that it would cost $700M more to cancel ASRM
(due to termination liability costs) than it would take to finish it. However
one Congresscritter looking at the figures found that the estimate contained
monies which NASA will spend regardless whether ASRM is built or not. If these
costs are eliminated, the taxpayers will save about $1 billion. Later Lenoir
and Aldridge where asked about buying Energia launches instead of NLS (saving
$14 billion in the process). The reply (in contrast to Griffin) was that
they hadn't even considered the possibility.

There was a lot of contrast between the two hearings. Griffin came across as
a person with a goal: Build a permanent Lunar base and go on to Mars. To
accomplish this goal he is willing to use whatever works no matter where it 
comes from. He is willing to commit to time and budget and can do so since he
insists on good engineering. He was very open to using Energia and looked
forward to international cooperation for SEI.

Lenoir and Aldridge also came across as men with a goal: Serve the empire. For
them ASRM and NLS are ends in themselves and if no mission needs them, then
missions will be changed to require them. Their stand on Energia showed that
they didn't care what it could do or how much it could save us; it stood in the
way of NLS and that was that.

But as we said above, there is good news. Lenoir has resigned and it could
be that Aldridge won't be far behind. The new NASA Administrator and the
Bush Administration both seem to be far more open than in the past. More
importantly, they are setting goals to move toward, which is something we
haven't had in a long time.

                            Legislative Roundup
                  Space Activists Mailing List Reactivated
The Ann Arbor Space Society has restarted the Space Activists mailing list. It
will provide current information on legislative activities and places where
grassroots effort is needed. If you have Internet access, you can sign up by
sending a request to: space-activists-request@iti.org.

                          New NASA Administrator
Daniel Goldin has been confirmed as the new NASA Administrator. One source
met with him recently and said that Goldin is "the antithesis of Truly". He
went on to say that he was a very down to business sort of person with no
ties to the existing NASA/aerospace establishment. All this puts him in a
very good position to clean house.

                          NASA Authorization Bill
The Space Subcommittee markup of the FY '93 NASA Authorization Bill happened on
1 April. In an effort to increase the clout of the Authorization Committee,
this bill has two Titles. Title I authorizes $14.8 billion in spending, a value
which is flat compared to 'FY92 appropriation. Title II authorizes an
additional $1 billion and funds several politically popular programs like
ASRM (also known as the Jamie Lee Whitten Memorial Pork Launcher). The catch
is that spending on  Title II programs is only authorized if NASA gets a raise
this year. If this bill passes before the Appropriation Bill then it will
provide a powerful incentive to appropriate more to NASA.

Things to do:
1. See the list of Senators on the Senate Science Committee in last months
   column. If you live in one of those states, contact your Senator and ask
   for quick passage of the NASA Authorization Act. Doing this will make our
   friends more powerful and better able to enact good legislation.

                         Commercial Space Act
The House commercial space bill is currently scheduled to be marked up on
April 9. There is a critical need to have activists contact senators to get
the bill introduced in the Senate. The best bet will be to get a Science 
committee member to add it to the NASA Authorization as an amendment.

                       Synthesis Postcard Campaign
On 13 March President Bush signed an order creating a National Program Office
headed by Dr. Griffin at NASA to oversee the Lunar/Mars effort. It also looks
like the State Department didn't get the influence it wanted in the process.
Some phrases from the order were similar to the postcard campaign statement,
and the Department of Commerce is also included in the effort (which the
postcard campaign called for). It looks like the campaign did help bring the
SEI NPO into existence. If you helped with this effort, many thanks for your
help and we look forward to working with you in future efforts.

                             Redistricting
A lot of you will find yourselves with new Congressional Representatives due
to recent redistricting. If so, this will give you a new chance to spread the
word to a new Congresscritter. Find out what committee(s) your new
Representative is on and write him or her a letter telling them how they can
work for an effective space program from inside their committee. If you are
going to ISDC next May, you should make an appointment and visit your new
Representative.

Allen Sherzer: (313) 769-4108 (W) (313) 973-0941 (H) aws@iti.org (net)
Tim Kyger: (202) 225-2415 (W) (703) 578-6454 (H) kyger@grebyn.com (net)

-- 
+          They're just jealous because they don't have three               +
|          wise men and a virgin in the whole organization                  |
|     --Vincent Cianci on the ACLU suit to remove a nativity scene          |
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