The Washington Post has devoted most of its Sunday Outlook section today, July 19, 2009, to the future of the space program. Mike Griffin, Howard McCurdy, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Marcia Bartusiak are among the opiners. Here are a few excerpts from Mike Griffin’s “Let’s Reach for the Stars Again”:

Op-ed by Mike Griffin in the Washington Post, July 19: Let’s Reach for the Stars Again

“Only in human spaceflight do we celebrate the anniversary of an achievement that seems more difficult to repeat than to accomplish the first time. Only in human spaceflight can we find in museums things that most of us in the space business wish we still had today.”

“You either believe that expanding the range of human action and thereby creating options for the future is a noble endeavor, worthy of the cost and risk, or you do not. No lesser justification is acceptable, and no greater justification is needed.”

“No one can wrest leadership in space from the United States. But we can certainly cede it, and that is the path we are on.”

The following events may be of interest next week. Dates, times and witnesses for congressional hearings and markups are subject to change; check with the relevant committee for up-to-date information.

Special Event: Apollo 11 40^th Anniversary

July 20 is the 40^th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon. Congratulations once more to Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and the entire Apollo team! On July 19-20, celebrations will take place in many locations across the United States. NASA has a list of NASA-sponsored events.

Other Events (in Washington, D.C. unless otherwise noted)

On the Senate Floor

The Senate is expected to continue debate on the FY2010 DOD authorization bill (S. 1390), which was not completed during the week of July 13 due to two controversial amendments that slowed debate: one to remove funding added in committee for seven more F-22s than the Administration (and many others) wanted, and another expanding the definition of hate crimes.

Congressional Hearings and Other Events

July 21

8:00 am House Armed Services Defense Acquisition Panel Hearing on Shaping a Workforce for Today’s Acquisition Environment that Can Meet Defense Department Needs 2118 Rayburn

10:00 am House Science and Technology Subcommittee Hearing on Encouraging Participation of Female Students in STEM Fields 2318 Rayburn

July 22

9:00 am House Appropriations Committee markup of FY2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill 2359 Rayburn

July 23 — Pasadena, CA

10:00 am PDT Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Quarterly Meeting JPL Von Karman Auditorium

Gallup released a new poll today of what Americans think about the space program. Overall, they appear quite supportive, with 58% saying that the space program has brought enough benefits to justify its costs. As for NASA funding, 46% think the current level is right, and 14% would like to see it increased. Also, 45% think NASA is doing a good job, and another 13% think it is doing an excellent job. The poll was taken July 10-12, 2009.

Via Twitter, NASA has announced that Charlie Bolden and Lori Garver have been sworn in as NASA Administrator and Deputy Administrator, respectively. Here’s the tweet, with a link to a photo.

NASART @nasahqphoto Lori B. Garver and Charles F. Bolden Jr. Pose for a photo together http://flic.kr/p/6FB97D

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter now in orbit around the Moon has taken images of several of the Apollo landing sites, including Apollo 11. See the images in NASA’s press release .

Bill Harwood of CBS News’ Space Place reports that “an as-yet-unknown mechanism” caused foam to peel away from the intertank area during the STS-127 launch yesterday. He quotes space shuttle program manager John Shannon as saying “There is nothing that we have seen on the orbiter that causes us any concern” but “Of course, since this looks like a new mechanism of shedding foam off the intertank, we need to understand that. It did not hurt us, apparently, on this flight, because it came off so late. But we’ll need to understand that before the next flight.”

During a telecon with the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) today, Norman Augustine said that the White House has given his panel on the future of the U.S. human space flight program flexibility to go beyond the formal statement of task.

The panel’s official charter includes a number of constraints. Among them is that the panel is to provide options that stay within the budgetary bounds of the FY2010 budget request and its projections for NASA’s exploration program. Also, the panel was directed to develop options for human spaceflight beyond the current planned termination of the space shuttle, which is after the completion of seven more flights.

Mr. Augustine told NAC that compromise was reached where the panel may provide options that exceed current budgetary guidance if they “make sense,” and adhering to the current shuttle termination plan is also flexible. NAC member and former shuttle commander Eileen Collins noted that when she gives public talks, people are surprised to learn the shuttle is about to be retired. Mr. Augustine said that he gets the same reaction. He also noted that some members of Congress are critical of the impending situation where the United States will be dependent on Russia to get crews to the International Space Station. He added, however, that it all comes down to a matter of money. As it currently stands, he said, if NASA wants to do something new it has to pay for it by canceling an existing program like the shuttle.

The panel has not yet reached its conclusions, and Mr. Augustine encouraged NAC members to send him emails with their own suggestions. He emphasized that the panel is seeking input from the public as well, and said that he has already gotten more than 1,000 emails himself. The public is welcome to send comments to the panel via the panel’s website: http://hsf.nasa.gov.

In an op-ed piece in the Washington Post today, the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, famed Apollo 11 astronaut and moonwalker Buzz Aldrin outlined his own plan for the future of U.S. human space flight — a Unified Space Vision. He predicted that President Bush’s 2004 Vision for Space Exploration, like Apollo, would be “a dead end littered with broken spacecraft, broken dreams and broken policies.”

Instead, he called for a focus on sending astronauts to Mars. He did not reject a human return to the Moon, but argued that this could be a focus for other countries.

“As the moon should be for all mankind, we should return there as part of an internationally led coalition. Using the landers and heavy-lift boosters developed by our partners, we could test on the moon the tools and equipment that we will need for our ultimate destination: homesteading Mars by way of its moons.”

“As we all reflect upon our historic lunar journey and the future of the space program, I challenge America’s leaders to think boldly and look beyond the moon. Yes, my vision of “Mars for America” requires bold thinking. But as my friend and Gemini crewmate Jim Lovell has noted, our Apollo days were a time when we did bold things in space to achieve leadership. It is time we were bold again in space.”

The Senate confirmed Charlie Bolden and Lori Garver as Administrator and Deputy Administrator of NASA on July 15, 2009. NASA’s press release provides links to their bios for anyone who does not already know these very capable leaders. Congratulations to both of them!

The space shuttle Endeavour is still on track for launch at 6:03 pm EDT tonight, July 15, 2009. Hopefully luck will be on NASA’s side this time, the sixth attempt to launch this STS-127 mission. NASA Mission Control says it is “optimistic” about the weather today. Follow the mission on NASA TV or on Spaceflightnow.com with live coverage by Miles O’Brien and guests.