The always candid and occasionally bewildering Mike Griffin made an appearance in Osh Kosh, Wisconsin last week at the AirVenture 2008 air show. Despite being overshadowed by Richard Branson’s Super Terrific Happy Hour (a.k.a., WhiteKnightTwo), the NASA administrator still managed to create controversy while giving our nation’s school children a South Park-style lesson in blame shifting.
The comments involved a possible five-year gap between shuttle and Orion flights. Aero-News.net has this account:
“A common thread throughout the hour-plus discussion was the logic, or lack thereof, of discontinuing the Space Shuttle until a replacement vehicle was in operation. According to NASA’s website, the current plan includes phasing out the Space Shuttle in 2010 and using Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft to shuttle astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) until a US replacement is developed. ‘The US and its partners have invested $100 billion in the [ISS],’ said Griffin, ’so it does seem short-sighted to not spend the $3 billion a year to maintain the Shuttle.’
And who does the NASA leader blame for this problem? It ain’t Canada.
“Directing his comments to the children in the audience, ‘Sometimes Washington does silly things.’”
This comment speaks for itself, really.
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