Search for NASA chief comes under political influence Why NASA's top job remains unfilled

Politicians, outside interests maneuver to influence choice

The Ares rockets (shown here in a drawing by an artist) are being developed at the space center in Huntsville, Ala. The Ares rockets (shown here in a drawing by an artist) are being developed at the space center in Huntsville, Ala. Photo: AP Photo: AP Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Search for NASA chief comes under political influence 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

Each time, though, aides to President Barack Obama failed to say whether they had selected the space agency’s administrator, and the guessing game continued.

Now, some supporters of the manned space program with ties to NASA say that one of the key reasons for the prolonged selection process is that powerful politicians and rival space contractors are maneuvering behind the scenes to influence the choice.

At stake is a multi-billion-dollar project to develop the Ares rocket for the space shuttle replacement.

NASA thought it had put the decision behind it to use the Ares to propel the Orion moonship into space when it selected a consortium of ATK Launch Systems Group, the Boeing Co. and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne to develop the moonship. The space agency has spent $13.6 billion on the rocket so far.

But the United Launch Alliance — a joint venture forged by Lockheed Martin Corp. and the Boeing Co. — never accepted Griffin’s decision as final, space expert John Logsdon said.

The alliance favors the Atlas V or Delta IV rockets, which the Pentagon uses to launch military satellites. Lockheed’s Atlas V rocket is built in Littleton, Colo.; Boeing’s Delta IV is constructed in Decatur, Ala.

“They see the choice of a new administrator as an opportunity,” said Logsdon, a former director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University who served on the Columbia accident investigation board.

Urged to keep Griffin

The Ares would use space shuttle launch facilities at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, keeping many high-paying jobs at the base — an approach that won the wholehearted approval of Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., one of the strongest supporters of the space program in Congress.

Nelson — the chairman of a key NASA subcommittee whose exploits include a shuttle flight in the 1980s — at one point urged the Obama transition team to keep the Bush administration’s NASA administrator, the man who selected the Ares, space engineer Michael Griffin.

Griffin’s concept for the Ares envisioned replacing the 30-year-old shuttle with a rapidly built rocket that integrated elements of the shuttle and the venerable Saturn V rocket, which lifted Apollo astronauts to the moon.

In his final weeks at NASA, Griffin was still complaining about the efforts of the United Launch Alliance to overturn his 2005 decision.

“Every week it seems we hear that NASA should be directed to halt development of the Ares I (and pay industry to develop an) expendable launch vehicle to fly the Orion crew vehicle,” Griffin grumbled in a January speech shortly before leaving the agency.

“In a world where NASA had substantially more,” he said, “it would certainly be desirable to build and optimize different systems for different missions. We are not in that world.”

Both of the competing contractor teams have political allies on Capitol Hill.

Nelson’s support for the Ares system in the Senate is complimented in the House by two Florida Democrats who sit on a panel that oversees the space agency.

Lockheed Martin of the rival United Launch Alliance has facilities in Littleton, Colo. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., chaired a House space subcommittee before winning election to the Senate in November. The alliance also has facilities in Decatur, Ala., the home state of Sen. Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on a Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees NASA spending.

Selection of a new administrator has taken longer than some expected, Logsdon said, because “the White House knows how tricky it will be to get an independent and trustworthy judgment from a new administration given the vested interests on all sides of this issue.”

Looking at options

The rival contractor, he said, hopes that the next administrator will reconsider the moon rocket as part of a broad review.

“The new administration and the new administrator are going to look at all the options with a fresh perspective,” said Scott Pace, a former NASA official who leads George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute.

Spokeswoman Julie Andrews of the United Launch Alliance said company officials would not comment on what she described as “speculation” about a new NASA administrator or a new choice for the moon mission contractor.

She signaled that the ULA would welcome a second chance to provide the rocket system that would be used for the next phase of manned U.S. space operations. “NASA is a valued customer, and we stand ready to support them in any way we can,” Andrews said.

The Obama team has floated three names so far as NASA administrator: retired Marine Gen. Charles Bolden, a former astronaut; Scott Gration, a retired Air Force general; and retired Air Force Gen. Lester Lyles. Gration emerged as a promising prospect before senators led by Nelson apparently scotched the choice. They were concerned he might reopen the decision on the Ares.

The White House declined to comment on the selection process or the timetable.

stewart.powell@chron.com