Sep 10 1998
From The Space Library
Ghassem R. Asrar, NASA Associate Administrator for Earth Science Enterprise, testified before the U.S. House Science Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics about budget concerns and delays associated with the Earth Observing System program. House Subcommittee Chairperson Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) had called the hearing to discuss numerous delays in NASA's Earth Science Enterprise missions. Asrar explained the reasons for the delays, indicating that NASA would work with Raytheon Systems to deliver a scaled-back data system within budget, in time to support two delayed missions. Subcommittee member, Representative David Weldon Jr. (R-FL), "questioned the legitimacy of NASA's ownership of the Earth Science program," suggesting that a different agency, such as the National Academy of Sciences or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), should manage the program. Weldon also questioned whether scientists would be able to make use of the vast amount of data they expected the program to generate. Robert S. Winokur, NAAA's Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Services, assured subcommittee members that scientists would be able to use the information. Winokur was responsible for coordinating NAAA's joint efforts with NASA to archive and retrieve environmental data.
NASA announced that Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) had selected Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space of Sunnyvale, California, and TRW Inc. Space and Electronics Group of Redondo Beach, California, as industry team members for the Space Interferometry Mission. The Interferometry Mission would measure the precise location of stars and search for planets orbiting nearby stars. The two contracts, which together exceeded US$200 million, included mission formulation and implementation.
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