In an interview yesterday with WESH TV in Orlando, Florida, President Barack Obama said that he is “committed” to the human spaceflight program.

Filmed at the White House with WESH anchor Jim Payne, the interview focused primarily on jobs in Florida, the Florida economy, and the upcoming election. Regarding the space program, Payne stated that 9,000 jobs were lost when the “manned space program shut down … and we’re not planning to have any more manned spaceflights until 2025.” He asked if there was a risk of losing expertise as well as public support by waiting so long to “put men back into space.”

Somewhat surprisingly, the President did not correct him either by pointing to the commercial crew flights that are supposed to begin around 2015-2016, or mentioning ongoing operations of the International Space Station (ISS). Commercial cargo flights to ISS should begin next year from Florida.

Instead, President Obama responded that “I am absolutely committed to manned spaceflight,” but we are in a time of transition and “probably should have done a better job of planning this out 20 years ago.” To make the “next leap” to go not just to the “Moon, but maybe Mars,” he said that technology needs to be revamped and launch vehicles improved. He did not mention human trips to asteroids, the destination he proclaimed in Florida last year.

The President told Payne that he decided “to emphasize human spaceflight. That’s part of what makes America great and it sparks the imagination” here and around the world. But there needs to be time to develop “new technologies, more effective rockets” and learn how to build environments so people can remain in space for longer periods of time. There will a “huge amount of investment” in those areas, he continued, and the people at NASA are the experts. So even though “the shuttle program has been suspended … we are trying to figure out how [to] move … engineers, scientists and technicians … into these new projects to develop that next stage of human spaceflight.”

The shuttle program has not been “suspended,” of course, but terminated.

The interview is available on the WESH website; this part begins at minute 4:00 of Part I. (Scroll down to where you see two video links side-by-side; the video at the top of the page is a news story about the interview, not the interview itself.)

The House has passed a very short term Continuing Resolution (CR ) to keep the government operating over the weekend. The Senate passed it on Monday so it is now ready for the President’s signature.

This “bridge” CR, which expires on Tuesday, is necessary because the House is meeting only in pro forma session this week. Very few members are in town. The CR passed by unanimous consent of those who were present.

A multi-week CR that lasts until November 18 could be more controversial and House members wanted a more formal debate on that measure. Therefore this CR covers the several days until that can take place.

The CRs are needed because none of the 12 appropriations bills that would fund the government for FY2012 has cleared Congress yet. FY2012 begins on Saturday, October 1.

NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) sharply criticized NASA’s management of a project to replace space radiation monitoring equipment on the International Space Station (ISS).

In a report released today, the OIG asserted that “NASA has poorly managed the development of replacement radiation monitoring instruments” needed aboard the ISS to monitor the level of space radiation to which ISS crewmembers are exposed. Such instruments were placed on the ISS between 2000 and 2002, but need to be replaced because of age or malfunctions. NASA initiated a project to do so in 2008, but because of its poor management, the replacements “are costing more than expected, are behind schedule, and will not include all planned elements.”

The OIG also discovered that NASA “has never monitored astronaut exposure to neutrons” as required by the ISS Medical Operations Requirements Document (MORD).

One corrective action recommended by the OIG was that the ISS Program Manager ensure that NASA’s project management policy is followed and that projects are not implemented “until managers demonstrate projects are properly anchored by firm requirements, realistic cost and schedule estimates, sufficient funding, and successful completion of a Preliminary Design Review.” However, the report states that the Assistant Associate Administrator for ISS disagreed that a PDR is needed before implementation or that the project was poorly managed. He did agree, however, to review how the cost and schedule estimates and assumptions about technology readiness were developed to see what improvements can be made. The OIG report lays out its case for concluding that a PDR is necessary and the project was poorly managed and states that it does “not understand NASA’s rationale for insisting otherwise.”

The OIG also recommended that the Director of Space Life Sciences at Johnson Space Center determine whether the MORD requires updating with regard to monitoring the spectra of charged particles. The ISS Assistant Associate Administrator concurred with that recommendation.

Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA), chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA, wants the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to tell Congress where it plans to get the money to pay for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) overrun.

In a letter to OMB Director Jacob Lew today, Rep. Wolf said that if the White House does not tell his subcommittee what NASA activities it plans to cut in order to make funds available for JWST, he will have to assume that JWST is no higher a priority than NASA’s other programs. The letter says —

“While acknowledging that substantial cuts will be necessary, the Administration has so far failed to identify a single specific proposal to offset the increase in JWST spending above the levels contained in the President’s fiscal year 2012 request. Either no offsets have been proposed because JWST really isn’t a top priority, or the Administration is hoping that remaining silent will force Congress to act unilaterally and thereby take sole ownership of the cuts necessitated by the Administration’s actions. No matter which explanation is correct, continuing silence is neither fair nor acceptable to the Congress and to members of the scientific community who will be deeply impacted by the ultimate outcome of the JWST debate.”

Wolf reminded Lew that the House and Senate will be meeting “in the coming weeks” to negotiate NASA’s FY2012 appropriations level and funding for JWST “will be one of the most significant issues considered.” For Congress to make “a truly informed decision,” it needs to understand “both the value of JWST and the value of opportunities that may be precluded” by shifting money from other activities into JWST. He made clear that if OMB did not provide the information before the conference negotiations begin, “I will consider that to be an indication that JWST is no higher in priority than any other existing or planned NASA activity.”

NASA has said that it will reveal the future spending plan for JWST when it submits its FY2013 budget request in February.

The House Appropriations Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) subcommittee, chaired by Wolf, recommended termination of the JWST program. The full committee agreed. The Senate Appropriations Committee, conversely, voted to provide more funds than requested for JWST in FY2012 to ensure that it could be launched in 2018. Neither the House nor Senate has voted on the CJS bill, yet.

Yvonne Brill was selected by the White House today as one of the five recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

Brill, who had a long career with aerospace and satellite communications companies including RCA Astroelectronics and Inmarsat, is being recognized “For innovation in rocket propulsion systems for geosynchronous and low earth orbit communication satellites, which greatly improved the effectiveness of space propulsion systems.”

A member of the National Academy of Engineering, and of the National Research Council’s Space Studies Board, Brill has received many honors for her pioneering work on in-orbit propulsion for communications satellites. Last year she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and she is one of only four women ever to be elected as Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

Brill is the only woman among the five individuals receiving the technology medal this year. The White House press release names those five and the seven recipients of the National Medal of Science:

National Medal of Science

Jacqueline K. Barton

California Institute of Technology

For discovery of a new property of the DNA helix, long-range electron transfer, and for showing that electron transfer depends upon stacking of the base pairs and DNA dynamics. Her experiments reveal a strategy for how DNA repair proteins locate DNA lesions and demonstrate a biological role for DNA-mediated charge transfer.

Ralph L. Brinster

University of Pennsylvania

For his fundamental contributions to the development and use of transgenic mice. His research has provided experimental foundations and inspiration for progress in germline genetic modification in a range of species, which has generated a revolution in biology, medicine, and agriculture.

Shu Chien

University of California, San Diego

For pioneering work in cardiovascular physiology and bioengineering, which has had tremendous impact in the fields of microcirculation, blood rheology and mechanotransduction in human health and disease.

Rudolf Jaenisch

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology

For improving our understanding of epigenetic regulation of gene expression: the biological mechanisms that affect how genetic information is variably expressed. His work has led to major advances in our understanding of mammalian cloning and embryonic stem cells.

Peter J. Stang

University of Utah

For his creative contributions to the development of organic supramolecular chemistry and for his outstanding and unique record of public service.

Richard A. Tapia

Rice University

For his pioneering and fundamental contributions in optimization theory and numerical analysis and for his dedication and sustained efforts in fostering diversity and excellence in mathematics and science education.

Srinivasa S.R. Varadhan

New York University

For his work in probability theory, especially his work on large deviations from expected random behavior, which has revolutionized this field of study during the second half of the twentieth century and become a cornerstone of both pure and applied probability. The mathematical insights he developed have been applied in diverse fields including quantum field theory, population dynamics, finance, econometrics, and traffic engineering.

National Medal of Technology and Innovation

Rakesh Agrawal

Purdue University

For an extraordinary record of innovations in improving the energy efficiency and reducing the cost of gas liquefaction and separation. These innovations have had significant positive impacts on electronic device manufacturing, liquefied gas production, and the supply of industrial gases for diverse industries.

B. Jayant Baliga

North Carolina State University

For development and commercialization of the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor and other power semiconductor devices that are extensively used in transportation, lighting, medicine, defense, and renewable energy generation systems.

C. Donald Bateman

Honeywell

For developing and championing critical flight-safety sensors now used by aircraft worldwide, including ground proximity warning systems and wind-shear detection systems.

Yvonne C. Brill

RCA Astro Electronics (Retired)

For innovation in rocket propulsion systems for geosynchronous and low earth orbit communication satellites, which greatly improved the effectiveness of space propulsion systems.

Michael F. Tompsett

TheraManager

For pioneering work in materials and electronic technologies including the design and development of the first charge-coupled device (CCD) imagers.

The awards will be presented at the White House later this year.

In a videotaped statement today, NASA’s orbital debris expert Nicholas Johnson announced precisely when and where the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) reentered. Earlier the agency said it might never know for certain.

Johnson said the location was 14.1 degrees South latitude, 170.2 degrees West longitude, near the Christmas Islands. The agency has received no reports from people on airplanes, ships or islands that they witnessed the reentry, which occurred at 04:00 GMT September 24 (midnight EDT).

A SpacePolicyOnline.com summary of last Friday’s hearing on NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System is now available. It can be download by clicking here or from our left menu under “Our Hearing Summaries.” The hearing was held by two subcommittees of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee with witnesses from NOAA, NASA and GAO.

Ed Weiler, NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate (SMD), is retiring at the end of this week.

NASA formally made the announcement today. Chuck Gay, SMD Deputy Associate Administrator, will take the helm while a replacement is sought.

Weiler is on his second tour as SMD chief. An astrophysicist who was chief scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope, Weiler rose to head NASA’s space science enterprise from 1998-2004, then was appointed Director of Goddard Space Flight Center. He returned to his previous job in May 2008 after Alan Stern resigned rather suddenly.

He joins several other NASA officials who have left or will leave the agency, including the head of SMD’s astrophysics division, Jon Morse. Morse and his wife, Laurie Leshin, who was Deputy Administrator of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD), both joined the faculty at Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute. Doug Cooke, Associate Administrator for ESMD, is retiring effective October 3. ESMD recently merged with the former Space Operations Mission Directorate to form the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.

NASA will hold a press conference on Thursday (September 29) to reveal new findings about asteroids from its Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission.

The press conference is at 1:00 pm EDT at NASA Headquarters and it will be aired on NASA TV. Panelists are:

— Lindley Johnson, NEO program executive, NASA Headquarters

— Amy Mainzer, NEOWISE principal investigator, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

— Tim Spahr, director, Minor Planet Center, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

— Lucy McFadden, scientist, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

National Journal, The Hill, and Politico are reporting that a deal has been struck in the Senate that will keep the government operating after Friday.

The complete details are still emerging, but the key that broke the deadlock was news from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that its funds would last through the end of this week instead of running out tomorrow. That means the agency does not need more money in FY2011, which ends Friday.

FEMA had said it needed $1 billion to get through the rest of FY2011 and House Republicans had demanded offsets for that $1 billion of the $3.5 billion included in the Continuing Resolution (CR) it passed on Friday. The Senate killed that measure.

The Senate has now agreed to provide the same amount of disaster relief funding ($2.65 billion) for FEMA from the beginning of FY2012, which starts on Saturday, as what was provided in the House-passed bill. Since FEMA does not need the $1 billion for FY2011, then the House-passed offsets are moot and the two sides can agree on that issue. The House tied together the FEMA funding with the CR to fund the government through November 18. A CR is needed because none of the 12 appropriations bills that would fund the government in FY2012 has passed Congress yet.

The House is scheduled to meet only in pro forma session this week — today and Thursday. Members are in their districts or otherwise out of town. Ordinarily they would want to vote on these measures instead of passing a bill like this by unanimous consent. Thus, the Senate also passed a CR to fund the government through Tuesday until the House returns to regular business and can vote on the CR that lasts until November 18. The House could pass that bill by unanimous consent.

The upshot of all this complicated political maneuvering is that a government shutdown on Friday likely has been averted.

Until November 18, at least.