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For other people with the same name, see Michael Griffin (disambiguation). Dr. Michael Douglas Griffin (born November 1, 1949 in Aberdeen, Maryland) has been the Administrator of NASA since April 13, 2005. As the chief of America's space agency, Dr. Griffin oversees such areas as the future of human spaceflight, the fate of the Hubble telescope and NASA's role in understanding climate change. He had previously worked at NASA including as Associate Administrator for Exploration. When he was nominated as NASA chief, Dr Griffin was working as the head of the Space Department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland. While he describes himself modestly as "a simple aerospace engineer from a small town," Griffin has held several high-profile political appointments. Dr. Griffin's appointment was associated with a significant shift in the direction of the agency. He began pronouncing intended changes at his Senate confirmation hearing (see current plans for NASA below). Current plans for NASA Dr. Griffin strongly supports President Bush's plan to return humans to the Moon and Mars, a plan that was also strongly supported by Dr Griffin's predecessor as NASA chief, Sean O'Keefe. However, the broad agreement between Dr Griffin and O'Keefe has not extended to every aspect of NASA, as Griffin has shown a willingness to reconsider some of his predecessor's specific decisions: Long-term vision for space In 2004 testimony to Congress on the future of human spaceflight, he stated, "for me the single overarching goal of human space flight is the human settlement of the solar system, and eventually beyond. I can think of no lesser purpose sufficient to justify the difficulty of the enterprise, and no greater purpose is possible." In his testimony he also advocated heavy-lift launch capabilities, development of space qualified nuclear power systems, in situ resource utilization, and cost-effective medium-size transport to low Earth orbit. Griffin told a Senate subcommittee that the first book he ever received was a book on astronomy and space when he was five years old, and "I was absolutely fascinated by it, and from that time forward, I never considered for myself anything other than being a scientist or engineer or mathematician and involving myself in the space business." Griffin has collaborated with several space advocacy organizations such as the National Space Society, Mars Society and the Planetary Society: Criticism of NASA budget management Griffin has been criticized by space research organizations such as NASA Ames Research Center life sciences group for shifting portions of NASA's budget from science to spaceflight*. Griffin had stated that he would not shift "one thin dime" of funding from science to human spaceflight, but less than six months later, in February 2006, NASA revealed a budget that reduced space research funding by about 25%, including indefinite deferrals of planned programs such as the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, the Terrestrial Planet Finder, and the Space Interferometry Mission. * Funding for a New York company to research the Prometheus space nuclear program has also been put on hold, although Griffin has said he is anxious to pursue Prometheus after the earlier-priority development of the new spacecraft is completed. Earlier, in November 2005, funding for life science research conducted largely out of Ames Research Center was cut by 80%, prompting representatives of the Ames life sciences group to write a scathing letter to Griffin criticizing this cut.* The NASA field centers focused mainly on science rather than on human spaceflight, such as Ames and Glenn Research Center, have seen general budgetary downsizing, and many science contracts with outside researchers have been canceled. * Griffin attributed these cuts, along with cuts in the human spaceflight budget, as being necessitated by a $3.2 billion shortfall. * The National Research Council also concluded that NASA's total funding has not been enough to fulfill all its mandates and remain strong in science. * Limitations on NASA's budget include a mandated continuation of the Space Shuttle program, including safety upgrades and testing; the mandated construction of the International Space Station; the mandated development of the Vision for Space Exploration architecture; programs outside of human spaceflight, consisting of science research and aeronautics research; and an ever-increasing share of NASA's budget devoted to line-item earmarks sometimes characterized as pork spending. Pressure to increase the number of space shuttle flights The Vision for Space Exploration, announced by President Bush in 2004, mandates that NASA must use the space shuttle to finish construction of the International Space Station by the end of 2010. By June 2006, due to ongoing concerns with the safety of the Shuttle in the wake of the Columbia disaster, only one flight had been performed, and the administration mandate required 18 more Shuttle flights to be performed in the remaining four and a half years. Griffin approved the launch of the space shuttle Discovery for July 2006 to perform the second return-to-flight mission, thereby overriding the NASA Chief Safety and Mission Assurance Officer, Bryan O'Connor. Although O'Connor said there were still unresolved concerns that foam insulation could break off of the external fuel tank and damage the orbiter, Griffin characterized the risk as acceptable. Griffin argued that it would be better to test one change at a time. With that flight NASA was testing the removal of protuberance air-load ramps from cable and fuel line fittings on the exterior of the external fuel tank. * Career Griffin's prior experience includes a previous stop at APL in the 1980s, when he helped design the successful Delta 180 series of missile-defense technology satellites for the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization. After leaving APL in 1986, he served as the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization’s deputy for technology, then as the chief engineer and later Associate Administrator for Exploration at NASA Headquarters. In 1993, Michael Griffin wrote a letter criticizing problems in the design review process for the International Space Station. In the years following his first tour with NASA, Griffin was president and chief operating officer of In-Q-Tel, a private, non-profit enterprise funded by the Central Intelligence Agency to identify and invest in companies developing cutting-edge technologies that serve national security interests. Griffin’s resume also includes leadership roles at Orbital Sciences Corporation and technical positions at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and at Computer Sciences Corporation. Before his appointment as NASA Administrator, Griffin was president-elect of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He is a member of the American Astronautical Society and International Academy of Astronautics. On March 11, 2005, President George W. Bush announced his intention to nominate Michael Griffin to serve as the 11th Administrator of NASA. He was confirmed by the Senate on April 13, 2005. Education Dr. Griffin holds seven degrees, and is pursuing his eighth. In chronological order of attainment, Dr. Griffin's degrees include: Dr. Griffin was also working toward an MS in computer science at Johns Hopkins University before being appointed as NASA chief. Dr. Griffin has been a professor at various universities, teaching courses in spacecraft design, applied mathematics, guidance and navigation, compressible flow, computational fluid dynamics, spacecraft attitude control, astrodynamics, and introductory aerospace engineering. He is the lead author of more than two dozen technical papers, and is co-author with James R. French of the graduate astronautical engineering textbook, "Space Vehicle Design." ISBN 1-56347-539-1 Dr. Griffin is also a general aviation flight instructor and pilot, and part-owner of a small airplane. Links related to nomination as NASA Administrator | |||||||
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