What to make of it? Does it reflect political machinations? During Hughes’ tenure as chief of staff last year, he rubbed some NASA employees the wrong way. However, a NASA source said the agency needs someone politically minded to lead Kennedy. In addition to conflicts with the Space Force and the Federal Aviation Administration, there is constant friction between users such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and other launch companies. When a spaceport user does something another user doesn’t like, they call the White House.
“Now, when someone says to Hughes, ‘Give me what I want or I’m going to call POTUS,’ Hughes might say, ‘I might as well,'” this source told Ars.
The pursuit of fiscal efficiency
The main theme of the letter and the proposed changes is to increase efficiency and save costs where possible.
“When you step back, it’s worth considering how many additional missions we could have accomplished with the resources lost to program cancellations and cost overruns over the years,” Isaacman wrote. “This is a problem we must solve, so the American taxpayer and the space enthusiast community can get the highest scientific return for every dollar we spend at NASA.”
One notable area where NASA will look for efficiencies is the famous Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. This planetary research center is not operated by NASA, but is instead a federally funded research and development center operated by the California Institute of Technology. This California-based university has operated the Jet Propulsion Laboratory since the 1950s, essentially without competition. His contract expires in 2028. Isaacman said the Energy Department has been successful in opening up competition to run federally funded research and development centers, and he believes NASA can do the same.
To this end, NASA will open a competition through a Request for Proposal mechanism for other universities to enter and operate the NASA Laboratory. Institutions such as Purdue University and Texas A&M University are likely to be interested in NASA’s goal of increasing the amount of science done per dollar invested.
