What to make of this? Is it reflective of political shenanigans? Hughes was abrasive during this stint as chief of staff last year, rubbing some NASA employees the wrong way. However, a NASA source said the agency needed someone with political chops to lead Kennedy. There is constant infighting there among users, such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and other launch companies, in addition to conflicts with the Space Force and Federal Aviation Administration. When one spaceport user does something another user does not like, they call the White House.
“Now, when someone tells Hughes ‘give me what I want or I will call POTUS,” Hughes can say, ‘So can I,’” this source told Ars.
Seeking fiscal efficiency
A main theme of the letter and proposed changes is increasing efficiency and achieving cost savings where possible.
“When you step back, it is worth considering how many additional missions we could have undertaken with the resources lost to program cancellations and cost overruns over the years,” Isaacman wrote. “That is the problem we must fix, so the American taxpayer and space-loving community can receive the highest scientific return on every dollar we spend at NASA.”
One notable area where NASA will seek efficiencies is at the famed Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. This planetary research center is not operated by NASA but is instead a federally funded research and development center managed by the California Institute of Technology. This California-based university has operated the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, essentially without competition, since the 1950s. Its contract expires in 2028. Isaacman said the Department of Energy has had success with opening up competition to run its federally funded research and development centers, and he believes NASA can do the same.
To that end, NASA will open a competition through the Request for Proposals mechanism for other universities to come in and operate the NASA Laboratory. Institutions like Purdue University and Texas A&M University are likely to be interested, with NASA’s goal to maximize the amount of science done per dollar invested.