NASA Advisory Council Recommendation 

Communicating the Human Spaceflight Vision 

2011-01-03 (SOC-Ol) 

Recommendation: The Council believes there is a disconnect between the human spaceflight 

vision at the top levels ofthe Agency and the perception that is prevalent throughout the NASA 

civil servant and contractor workforce. The success of commercial launch to low-Earth orbit is 

imperative to the success ofthe NASA exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, including the 

capability for multiple destinations, with the ultimate goal being Mars. We recommend that a 

clear vision ofthe overall NASA direction ofits human spaceflight program be communicated to 

the workforce and the public, to include the commercial and deep space exploration components. 

NASA should publish specific goals and objectives, and communications should include an 

enrollment plan, town hall meetings, the NASA Web site, social media, and other forums. 

Follow-up will be required to ensure that the message is received, and that actions are underway 

commensurate with the vision. 

Major Reasons for the Recommendation: Motivate the workforce behind the vision. A more 

informed workforce is more productive. Improve NASA's image with the public. Tie in with 

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and inspiration. 

Eliminate the perception of competition between low-Earth orbit and deep space programs. 

Consequences of No Action on the Recommendation: Potential lack ofworkforce 

commitment and motivation. A potentially deteriorating NASA image, both internally and 

externally. 

NASA Response: NASA concurs with the recommendation. To better inform the Agency's 

workforce, NASA has created an internal communications working group that is looking to 

implement additional internal communication and assessment activities. A number of 

improvements already executed include periodic video messages from the Administrator and the 

Deputy Administrator, regularly scheduled communications from the Agency's senior 

leadership, and special weekly video feeds titled, "This Week @NASA," that share topical 

Agency developments targeted for internal audiences. To better engage in more of an ongoing 

conversation with the Agency's workforce, NASA is exploring additional investments in 

communications technology and expanding staffdedicated to these activities. Also, there will be 

regular assessments and research projects in an effort to measure the effectiveness ofthe 

Agency's internal communications. With the release ofthe Fiscal Year 2012 budget proposal 

and a new vision for NASA as part ofthe 2011 NASA Strategic Plan, NASA has brought all of 

the Agency's communications efforts under one organization, known as the Communications 

Coordinating Committee (CCe), in an effort to bring more focus to the Agency's highly 

fragmented outreach efforts. Given the strained fiscal environment in which all Federal agencies 

are working, NASA must be more judicious with its communications resources and try to rally 

Enclosure 2 
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them behind common themes and messages that support the overall objectives and not specific 

projects and programs. The Office ofCommunications, in coordination with senior leadership 

and other Administration representatives, put together comprehensive messaging packages that 

addressed the larger Agency initiatives and focused on individual Center activities. These 

messages were created to enable the Agency to speak publicly with "one voice" as it talked about 

the future. The messages centered around three primary themes: 1) NASA's new exploration 

efforts maintain our commitment to human spaceflight and the technologies ofthe future that 

will help us reach an ever more challenging array of destinations; 2) continues the Agency's 

focus on a reinvigorated path ofinnovation and technological development that will help us 

create jobs and remain competitive in the global marketplace; 3) and provides for strong 

programs to continue the excellent science; aeronautics research, and education that will help us 

win the future. Additional themes and messages communicated to both internal and external 

audiences include: 

President Barak Obama's budget proposal supports all elements ofthe bipartisan NASA 

Authorization Act of 201 O. NASA has accepted the challenge given in this budget to live 

within our means so we can invest in our future. Tough choices had to be made, but this 

budget puts us on a responsible path to win the future by out-educating, out-innovating, 

and out-building the rest ofthe world. 

Our future exploration initiatives focus on the safety of our American astronauts living 

and working in space. They make smart investments in the commercial space industry 

and prioritize our efforts to ensure that American astronauts and their cargo are 

transported by American companies, rather than continuing to out source this work to 

foreign governments. 

Funds human spaceflight programs to maximize current capabilities such as the 

International Space Station, executes innovative approaches to ensure U.S. leadership in 

low-Earth orbit, and positions the Agency to explore the frontiers ofdeep space. 

Develops a heavy-lift rocket and crew capsule to carry explorers beyond Earth's orbit. 

Supports new science missions and the many space observatories and Earth-observing 

systems successfully carrying out their work now. 

Supports aeronautics research, focusing resources toward enhancing aviation safety and 

airspace efficiency and reducing aviation's environmental impact. 

Invests in high-payoff, high-risk technology that industry cannot tackle today. Helps 

NASA mature technology for future missions and prove the capabilities and lower the 

cost ofother Government agency and commercial space activities. 

Stimulates the economy and builds our Nation's global economic competitiveness 

through technology investments that create new products and services, new business and 

industries, and high-quality, sustainable jobs. 
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Helps the Agency look at new ways ofdoing business, improve program management, 

and bring the American people the space program they deserve in a way we all can 

afford. 

Educates the next generation oftechnology leaders through vital programs in science, 

technology, engineering, and mathematics education. 

Specific messages for NASA's ten Centers were developed, distributed, and discussed in detail 

in ongoing video conferences and teleconferences with all internal and external communications 

staff. Again, the desire is to be able to provide infonnation about how each Center will approach 

the Agency's future direction while, at the same time, fitting into the larger NASA organization. 

NASA is a recognized leader in social media and other forward-leaning technologies designed to 

better share the Agency's messages with a variety of external and internal audiences. Working 

with the Astronaut Office, the Office ofCommunications has provided crews with training in 

tools such as Twitter, Flickr, Gowalla, Foursquare, and other Web sites that have resulted in 

unprecedented news coverage and recognition. In March 2011, Astronaut Doug Wheelock was 

honored with a Shorty Award, a recognition ofpopular "tweets," at an annual ceremony in 

New York. By a wide margin, NASA placed first in a study released on AprilS, 2011, that ranks 

100 public sector organizations in the effectiveness oftheir Web sites, digital outreach, social 

media use, and mobile sites. The L2 Digital IQ Index: public sector, a think tank for digital 

innovation, was conducted by New York University Professor Scott Galloway, Doug Guthrie, 

Dean, George Washington University School of Business, and a team of experts from L2. The 

study reports that NASA "is in its own stratosphere" and the clear leader in digital use, noting the 

Agency's innovation on nearly every platfonn. The 26-point spread between NASA and the next 

closest organization is the largest seen in any ofL2's Digital IQ Index studies to date. Studies in 

the past year and a half have looked at more than 500 private and public sector organizations, 

including luxury, beauty, automobile, pharmaceutical, and retail industries. 

Reinforcement ofNASA's themes and messages is an ongoing effort. A recent meeting ofthe 

Agency's CCC was solely devoted to discussing the specific themes and messages outlined in 

this response and how best to share information with a variety ofinternal and external audiences. 

Senior leadership also recently approved a comprehensive internal communications assessment 

effort so the organization can better engage in a dialog with the workforce, ensuring, as NASA 

moves forward, that it has a mechanism to inform, discuss, and receive reaction and 

contributions from its dedicated employees.