The following documents the discussions addressed at the Senior Staff and
Center Directors' Meeting on January 3, 2000. Mr. Goldin attended the
meeting. Action assignments have been placed in brackets [ ] for easy
identification.
1. AA Reports
B/Holz: Mr. Holz reported that we received Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) clearance on our FY 2000 Operating Plan, and it has been sent to the
Hill. The FY 2001 President's budget is still undergoing formulation and
adjustments. New adjustments were received at the end of December.
Discussions are continuing with the Associate Administrators (AA's) and OMB
to resolve ambiguities and gain clarifications where needed. The lateness
of the final adjustments is creating some production issues, and Code B
hopes it can count on your support during the development of our
congressional budget due to Congress the first week in February.
H/Luedtke: Mr. Luedtke appreciated all efforts made by the Procurement
Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) and Information
Technology (IT) people over the last few years in working with the
contractors to ensure that they were Y2K compliant.
I/Schumacher: Mr. Schumacher reported that Russian President Boris Yeltsin
resigned, and Code I is waiting to determine what the recent changes in
Russia will mean for NASA.
U/Nicogossian: Dr. Nicogossian reported that the Honorable David Satcher,
Surgeon General of the United States, will be the keynote speaker for the
first session of Code U's continuing education series 2000, "Global Trends
of Emerging Infectious and Non-Infectious Diseases," on January 14, 2000,
from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in ViTS room CD-61. Dr. Satcher is the 16th Surgeon
General of the United States and only the second person in history to
simultaneously hold the positions of Surgeon General and Assistant
Secretary of Health in the Department of Health and Human Services.
AO/Holcomb: Mr. Holcomb reported on the following items: 1) The NASA Y2K
team should take pride in what has been a truly extraordinary
accomplishment. As of 10 a.m. this morning, NASA has transitioned
successfully to the year 2000 with no significant problems. During the
monitoring period, the Agency suffered a few minor anomalies that were
easily fixed. Only one, involving a piece of planning software for Upper
Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), appeared to be Y2K related; however,
it did not affect any real-time mission-critical systems. The NASA Y2K
team worked quite effectively over the past several years to repair and
certify our systems and then execute our zero-day strategy. Andrea Norris
of Code AO deserves recognition for her leadership and team-building
skills. Each Center Y2K manager has met and addressed each challenge that
has come our way over the past few years. A special thanks to Bernie
Tomardy and Bill Duffy of GSFC for serving as gracious hosts for the NASA
Y2K Communications Center (NYCC). Our success was due in large part to the
outstanding satellite operations teams at MSFC, JSC, JPL, and GSFC with
special thanks to Tom Maione of GSFC, Paul Allison and Sheila Fogel of
MSFC, and Dick Mathison of JPL. These teams deal with numerous anomalies
each and every day. During the rollover, these teams rapidly and
effectively addressed all anomalies. We appreciate the sacrifices made by
each member of the NASA Y2K team over this past weekend. When we requested
information, each Center was staffed to respond rapidly. Our success was
due in large measure to the commitment of Senior Management who supported
prudent and appropriate Y2K investments. Mr. Holcomb noted that DOD
suffered a Y2K outage of one of its reconnaissance systems shortly after
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) rollover, despite a Y2K investment of nearly 40
times that of NASA. 2) The following is a status as of 10 a.m. today:
Flight controllers continue to make contact with NASA spacecraft according
to previously planned schedules. The spacecraft and related communications
systems are functioning without incident. JSC reports that the Mission
Control Center for the International Space Station (ISS), which was taken
offline before the Y2K transition in Moscow (4 p.m. EST December 31) was
successfully brought back online. The NASA Automated Data Processing
Consolidation Center (NACC) at MSFC successfully transitioned to 2000 on
January 1 and is fully functional without experiencing any Y2K anomalies.
NASA Payroll is fully operational. The QuikSCAT spacecraft entered
safehold at approximately 10 a.m. EST (1500 Universal Time Clock (UTC)) on
January 1, 2000 caused by an Inertial Reference Unit (IRU) failure. There
is no indication the IRU failure is related to Y2K. The QuikSCAT teams
were able to reestablish routine operations by 4 p.m. EST (2300 UTC) on
January 2, 2000. Computer hacking was at normal levels, and no
Y2K-rollover-triggered attacks were detected. A few minor nonmission
critical Y2K anomalies have also been observed and resolved.
J/Sutton: Mr. Sutton acknowledged the nationwide physical security
concerns over the Y2K transition period and commended the NASA security
community for their preparations and alertness. There were no physical
security incidents reported.
Z/Garver: Ms. Garver reported that the Strategic Management Handbook is
complete and ready for Mr. Goldin's review and signature.
M/Rothenberg: Mr. Rothenberg thanked the team at KSC for the flawless
launch of STS 103. He also congratulated the Space Operations Management
Office (SOMO) on the successful Y2K rollover.
Y/Asrar: Dr. Asrar congratulated and thanked GSFC and JPL for the
successful Terra and ACRIMsat launches. He also thanked the KSC team for
giving Code Y support for the launches.
2. AI/Dr. Mulville
Dr. Mulville reported on the following items: 1) He welcomed everyone back
from the holidays and congratulated everyone on the successful Y2K
transition. 2) The first Program Management Council (PMC) meeting of the
year will be on January 19 to discuss Integrated Financial Management
Project (IFMP). Thirty years ago this week, on January 6, 1970: Former
Astronaut Michael Collins was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for
Public Affairs in Washington, DC. A State Department news release
explained that he would be responsible for State Department relations with
the U.S. public, particularly the youth.
3. Center Reports
DFRC/Petersen: Mr. Petersen reported on the status of safety awareness and
training.
GSFC/Diaz: Mr. Diaz reported that all operations are normal. Hubble Space
Telescope and Terra are doing fine, and he is pleased with the performance
of the Y2K transition.
JSC/Abbey: Mr. Abbey reported on the following items: 1) JSC noted no
transition problems in the Y2K rollover. 2) The SOMO reported no problems
with data. 3) The ISS is in good shape. 4) Preparations for the launch of
STS-99 at the Cape continue.
KSC/Bridges: Mr. Bridges reported that his office is in receipt of a
letter dated December 28 from Senator Bob Graham's (D-FL) office
establishing a Florida Space Summit at KSC on January 14, 2000. Attendees
will include Mr. Goldin, Florida Governor John E (Jeb) Bush (R-FL), and
congressional representatives, both Federal and State.
4. Mr. Goldin
Mr. Goldin reported that NASA had a great Y2K rollover. He thanked Lee
Holcomb, the other Associate Administrators (AA's), and Center Directors
for their exemplary efforts. This effort was achieved with proportionally
less money than other agencies. [Code P is to work with Code AO to put
something out on this accomplishment.] He noted the December 18 launch as
the first he has missed in a long time, and he commended the team on
successfully completing this very difficult mission. He said it sets a new
standard. He thanked the team for doing the right thing and not being in a
hurry to launch. [Code M is to work with Codes P and S to also prepare
thank you letters to their staff.] Mr. Goldin reemphasized safety first.
He noted the successful launches of Terra and ACRIMsat). He complimented
GSFC and Code Y for waiting a year to launch Terra, and he thanked the
entire team for a terrific job. On Thursday, January 6, there will be a
special Senior Management Council Meeting on the FY 2001 budget. If the
meeting is not necessary, it will be cancelled. Mr. Goldin stressed that
this will be an aggressive year for NASA. Reemphasizing safety first, Mr.
Goldin cautioned that we will not push for launches unless they are ready
to go. He will work with Dr. Mulville on this matter. In reviewing
programs, he also cautioned that we are not discriminating enough. We need
a better way to review programs. The AA's are to convene Safety
Reliability & Quality Assurance (SR&QA) teams. Codes M, S, U, and Y should
be cognizant of potential problems. Mr. Goldin will take two actions on
safety and quality: 1) He will look at using new approaches using
technologies like Intelligent Synthesis Environment (ISE) and tools under
development at ARC. 2) He will have discussions with leaders, executives,
and CEO's of nonaerospace companies who have successfully demonstrated
safety and quality in complex areas and have exemplary safety records.
NASA will be the safest organization in the world.
NOTE: ACTION ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE TRANSMITTED UNDER SEPARATE COVER AND
TRACKED BY THE HEADQUARTERS CORRESPONDENCE MANAGEMENT OFFICE. SPECIFIC
QUESTIONS MAY BE ADDRESSED TO VANESSA COATES @ (202) 358-0906.
Distribution
Officials-in-Charge of NASA Headquarters Offices:
AI/Dr. Mulville
AB/Ms. Tagg
AE/Mr. Hudkins
AF/Mr. Venneri
AJ/Mr. Tam
AO/Mr. Holcomb
AS/Dr. Olsen
B/Mr. Holz
C/Mr. Christensen
E/Mr. Reese
F/Ms. Novak
G/Mr. Frankle
H/Mr. Luedtke
I/Mr. Schumacher
J/Mr. Sutton
K/Mr. Thomas
L/Mr. Heffernan
M/Mr. Rothenberg
P/Ms. Wilhide
Q/Mr. Gregory
R/Gen. Armstrong
S/Dr. Weiler
U/Dr. Nicogossian
W/Ms. Gross
Y/Dr. Asrar
Z/Ms. Garver
Directors, NASA Centers:
ARC/Dr. McDonald
DFRC/Mr. Petersen
GRC/Mr. Campbell
GSFC/Mr. Diaz
JSC/Mr. Abbey
KSC/Mr. Bridges
LaRC/Dr. Creedon
MSFC/Mr. Stephenson
SSC/Mr. Estess
Director, Jet Propulsion Laboratory:
Dr. Stone
cc:
A/Ms. Wilcoxen
A/Ms. Landrus
AB/Ms. Saldana
AE/Ms. Moore
AF/Ms. Eastman
AI/Ms. Shaeffer
AI/Ms. Bloxon
AO/Ms. Wissinger
AS/Ms. Simms
CIC/Ms. Grimes
CIC/Ms. Hoover
CIC/Ms. Coates
CIC/Ms. Fenner
C-3/Ms. Soper
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