Minutes of Senior Staff and Center Directors’ The following documents the discussions addressed at the Senior Staff and
Center Directors’ Meeting on March 27, 2000. Mr. Goldin did not attend the
meeting. Action assignments have been placed in brackets [ ] for easy
identification.

1. AA Reports

P/Cleggett: Ms. Cleggett reported on the following: 1) There will be an
STS-101 L-14 Preflight Press briefing. There will also be a news release
on using satellite technology to detect cholera from space. 2) On Tuesday,
March 28, there will be a press conference at 2 p.m. from NASA Headquarters
on the release of the Mars Program Independent Assessment Team (MPIAT)
report. 3) On Wednesday, March 29, there will be a Space Science Update at
1 p.m. on the discovery of new planets. 4) On March 30, the FY 2001
budget posture hearing and management issues before the House Subcommittee
on VA-HUD-Independent Agencies (IA). (Note: Hearing was cancelled at the
request of the House.) 5) Also on March 29, the STS-99 crew will be in the
Headquarters auditorium from 3 to 4 p.m. 6) On March 28, Janet Kavandi
will attend a luncheon for Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, wife of President Mubarak
of President Mubarak of Egypt, at Blair House.

H/Luedtke: Mr. Luedtke reported that the Procurement 2000 Training
Conference runs from this evening, March 27, through Thursday evening,
March 30, at Tysons Corner Doubletree Hotel. A cross section of over 200
procurement people from across the Agency will participate, including all
the Procurement Officers and Code H managers. He appreciates the support
of the Centers in sending significant numbers of their staff and Code F for
providing substantial resources to support this event. This is the first
time NASA Procurement has done this type of training, and we are looking
forward to it.

K/Diamond: Mr. Diamond reported that, this afternoon, the Office of Small
and Disadvantaged Business Utilization is briefing the National Black
Business Association and the Black Business Association of Los Angeles, as
part of the 27th Annual Trade Mission to Washington. The briefing will
focus on the growth of small business in NASA contracts. On Thursday,
March 30, the office will participate in the A-76 conference to explain the
role that NASA small businesses play in the Federal Activities Inventory
Reform (FAIR) Act.

S/Huckins: Dr. Huckins reported on the following: 1) The decision was
announced to proceed with operations leading to the controlled reentry of
the Gamma Ray Observatory on June 3. 2) During vibration testing of the
Small Explorer payload, the HESSI (High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager)
spacecraft was significantly damaged. A Failure Review Board has been
formed. 3) Congratulations to GSFC on the launch of IMAGE (Imager for
Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration). This Medium Class Explorer
(MIDEX) was launched on March 25 at 3:34 p.m. EST. The spacecraft is in
good condition, although they are working a nutation damping system
anomaly. 4) On Tuesday, March 28, the final report of the MPIAT will be
released, along with the final report on the “Loss of the Mars Polar Lander
and Deep Space 2 Missions.” The press conference will be at 2 p.m.

AS/Olsen: Dr. Olsen reported that in recognition of the growing need and
importance to world health, on April 10 (in PRC) and 11 (in ACR-2), Codes U
and Y will host an internal 2-day NASA workshop in Washington, DC, to
develop a joint cooperative program aimed at enhancing the application of
remote sensing and geographic information system technologies to human
health-related issues. The first day will include an opportunity for
Centers to make presentations. The second day will include presentations
by Codes S, U, and Y. Dr. Mary Cleave will discuss Earth science, and Beth
McCormick will discuss microgravity. A finalized agenda will be
distributed, once it has been determined how much time each Center needs.
Dr. Olsen’s staff will be calling the Centers to confirm the participation
of each Center’s representative by Tuesday, March 28.

L/Kerwin: Ms. Kerwin reported on the following: 1) On Wednesday, March
29, NASA will be testifying before the House Government Reform Committee on
computer security. 2) On March 30, the STS-99 crew will visit with the
House Appropriations Subcommittee on VA-HUD-IA.

2. AI/Dr. Mulville

Dr. Mulville reported on the following: 1) Mr. Goldin will not be
attending the Senior Staff meeting today; therefore, the Administrator’s
Safety Message will be discussed next week. 2) The agenda for the Senior
Management Council Meeting on April 12 will be distributed this week.

3. Center Reports

DFRC/Petersen: Mr. Petersen reported that, last week, the Center hosted
the NASA Awards Program for the 1999 NAACP ACT-SO (Afro-Academic, Cultural,
Technological and Scientific Olympics) National Competition Winners.
ACT-SO is a year-long enrichment program designed to encourage high
academic and cultural achievement among African-American high school
students. Thirteen students were hosted as the Science and Technology
winners for 1999.

GRC/Earls: Dr. Earls reported on the following: 1) Dr. Margaret Tuma was
awarded this year’s Distinguished Alumnus Award from the John Carroll
University Physics Department. This prestigious award is presented for
outstanding professional achievement and service to the university and its
physics department. Dr. Tuma was formally recognized for her outstanding
accomplishments in engineering and physics; contributing to the Nation’s
aerospace transportation and exploration goals; and mentoring and fostering
excellence in the next generation of scientists and engineers. 2) The NASA
GRC Magnetic Bearing Team has successfully demonstrated a fail-safe
controller for magnetic bearings. The demonstration used only two active
coils from each radial bearing and levitated and spun the rotor without
losing stability and the desired rotor position, up to the maximum rig
speed of 20,000 rpm. The demonstration also showed that magnetic
suspension technology for advanced high-speed rotating turbomachinery can
be made safe and reliable.

GSFC/Diaz: Mr. Diaz reported on the following: 1) This is the week of the
Goddard Memorial Dinner, and the Center will be hosting the 38th Annual
Symposium with an impressive array of speakers, including Dr. Mulville.
The Symposium will be open to NASA employees. 2) The GSFC Building 8
Auditorium will also be the site of various colloquium speakers, including
the author William Burrows. 3) Mr. Diaz is also very pleased with the
performance of the IMAGE launch team.

JSC/Abbey: Mr. Abbey reported on the following: 1) The launch of the
next Space Shuttle flight is scheduled for April 26. (Note: April 24 is
the new planned launch date.) 2) On the International Space Station (ISS),
Zarya and Unity are doing well on orbit. 3) They have the final manifest
for the next Space Shuttle going to the ISS. 4) Sig Sjoberg, former JSC
Deputy Director, passed away.

KSC/Bridges: Mr. Bridges thanked all those involved in the tremendous
effort given to launch the IMAGE spacecraft; everyone did a great job. He
was pleased to team with GSFC on such an intense activity.

SSC/Estess: Mr. Estess reported that the Center hosted the Special
Olympics over the weekend.

NOTE: ACTION ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE TRANSMITTED UNDER SEPARATE COVER AND
TRACKED BY THE HEADQUARTERS CORRESPONDENCE MANAGEMENT OFFICE. SPECIFIC
QUESTIONS MAY BE ADDRESSED TO JILL HOOVER @ (202) 358-0905.

Distribution
Officials-in-Charge of NASA Headquarters Offices:
AI/Dr. Mulville
AB/Ms. Tagg
AC/Gen. Armstrong
AE/Mr. Keegan
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/Mr. Venneri
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. M. Roberts
A/Ms. S. Roberts
A/Ms. Landrus
AB/Ms. Saldana
AE/Ms. Moore
AI/Ms. Bloxon
AI/Ms. Shaeffer
AO/Ms. Wissinger
AS/Ms. Simms
C-3/Ms. Soper
CIC/Analysts