Office of Science and Technology Policy 
Executive Office of the President 

New Executive Office Building 
Washington, DC 20502

 

 
FOR RELEASE:  
May 7, 2009 
12:30 pm Eastern 
 

Contacts:

 NASA: Robert "Doc" Mirelson 

                            202-358-4495 
                            

doc.mirelson@nasa.gov

 

                 OSTP: Rick Weiss  

   202 456-6037 
   

rweiss@ostp.eop.gov

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. ANNOUNCES REVIEW OF HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT PLANS  

 

INDEPENDENT BLUE-RIBBON PANEL WILL DELINEATE OPTIONS  

 
WASHINGTON – The Obama Administration today announced the launch of an independent 
review of planned U.S. human space flight activities with the goal of ensuring that the nation is 
on a vigorous and sustainable path to achieving its boldest aspirations in space.

  

The review will 

be conducted by a blue-ribbon panel of experts led by Norman Augustine, the former CEO of 
Lockheed Martin, who served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and 
Technology under Democratic and Republican presidents and led the 1990 Advisory Committee 
on the Future of the U.S. Space Program and the 2007 National Academies commission that 
produced the landmark report, 

Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing 

America for a Brighter Economic Future

, as well as

 a number of other high-profile national 

commissions.  
 
The "Review of United States Human Space Flight Plans" is to examine ongoing and planned 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) development activities, as well as 
potential alternatives, and present options for advancing a safe, innovative, affordable, and 
sustainable human space flight program in the years following Space Shuttle retirement.  The 
panel will work closely with NASA and will seek input from Congress, the White House, the 
public, industry, and international partners as it develops its options. It is to present its results in 
time to support an Administration decision on the way forward by August 2009.  
 
“President Obama recognizes the important role that NASA’s human space flight programs play 
in advancing scientific discovery, technological innovation, economic strength and international 
leadership,” said John P. Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and 
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.  “The President’s goal is to ensure that 
these programs remain on a strong and stable footing well into the 21

st

 Century, and this review 

will be crucial to meeting that goal.” 

 

 

 

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In a letter to

 

Acting NASA Administrator Christopher Scolese asking him to undertake the 

review, Holdren noted that it is prudent for the new Administration to obtain a fresh assessment 
of America’s human space flight program given its scale and scope—and especially given its 
importance for scientific and technological innovation and discovery.   
 
Scolese expressed confidence that the review would serve the nation, NASA, and its employees 
well. “The thousands of workers who have given so much over the years to bring human space 
flight to where it is today deserve nothing less than a full assurance that their commitment will 
be applied in the smartest and most practical ways,” Scolese said. “I appreciate the strong 
support that the President and Dr. Holdren have for NASA’s programs—including our human 
space flight program—and I look forward to working with Norm, the panel, and the 
Administration to ensure that NASA remains on the best path as it moves forward.” 

 

Scolese emphasized that work on 

Constellation

 will continue while the review is underway and 

that workforce issues will be an important factor assessed by the panel as it considers various 
options.  
 
The review panel will assess a number of architecture options, taking into account such 
objectives as: 1) expediting a new U.S. capability to support use of the International Space 
Station; 2) supporting missions to the Moon and other destinations beyond low Earth orbit; 3) 
stimulating commercial space flight capabilities; and 4) fitting within the current budget profile 
for NASA exploration activities.   Among the parameters to be considered in the course of its 
review are crew and mission safety, life-cycle costs, development time, national space industrial 
base impacts, potential to spur innovation and encourage competition, and the implications and 
impacts of transitioning from current human space flight systems.  The review will consider the 
appropriate amounts of R&D and complementary robotic activity necessary to support various 
human space flight activities, as well as the capabilities that are likely to be enabled by each of 
the potential architectures under consideration. It will also explore options for extending 
International Space Station operations beyond 2016. 
 
Members of the panel are to be named soon.

 

 
“It is an honor to be asked to lead this important human space flight review, and I am excited 
about working with my fellow panel members to examine these difficult, complex, and pressing 
questions,” said Augustine, a former aerospace industry executive who 

is a recipient of the 

National Medal of Technology, the Joint Chiefs of Staff  Distinguished Public Service Award, the 
Department of Defense's Civilian Distinguished Service Medal, and 

has served as chairman of the 

American Red Cross and President of the Boy Scouts of America. 
 
 “I am a believer in the value of this nation’s human space flight activities,” Augustine said. 
“And we will do everything we can to provide the information needed to help the country 
maintain the spectacular arc of progress that NASA has fueled for five decades.” 
 
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OSTP was created by Congress in 1976 to serve as a source of scientific and technological 
analysis and judgment for the President with respect to major policies, plans, and programs 

of the federal government. Specifically, OSTP is authorized to: 



 

Advise the President and others within the Executive Office of the President on the 
impacts of science and technology on domestic and international affairs  



 

Lead interagency efforts to develop and implement sound science and technology 
policies and budgets  



 

Work with the private sector to ensure that federal investments in science and 
technology contribute to economic prosperity, environmental quality, and national 

security  



 

Build strong partnerships among the federal government; state and local 

governments; other countries; and the scientific community  



 

Evaluate the scale, quality, and effectiveness of the federal effort in science and 
technology.  

  

For more information on OSTP, visit 

www.ostp.gov

 

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