NASA consolidates human spaceflight programs


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The unspoken implication is that with commercial and deep space human flight in one office crossover become much easier. Something to think about with Crew Dragon, Falcon 9 Block II, Falcon Heavy, NASA's Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) and Bigelow's habitats coming on line in the next few years.

Space News....

NASA Consolidates Human Spaceflight Office

WASHINGTON ? NASA has officially consolidated its human spaceflight program, including the international space station, deep space exploration, and commercial cargo- and crew-transport operations, under a single mission directorate.

The new Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission Directorate comprises what used to be the Space Operations and Exploration Systems mission directorates. Bill Gerstenmaier, formerly the Space Operations associate administrator, will head up the new directorate.

NASA announced the long-anticipated merger in an Aug. 12 press release. The agency said ?the transition and personnel assignments will take several weeks to finalize.?

Douglas Cooke, previously the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate?s top official, would have been deputy administrator of the HEO directorate, according to an internal presentation circulated by NASA in February. But Cooke had said he planned to leave the agency after the two directorates were combined.

NASA has not yet said who will serve as Gerstenmaier?s deputy. Another likely candidate, former Exploration Systems Deputy Associate Administrator Laurie Leshin, is leaving NASA in September to return to academia.

NASA spokesman J.D. Harrington did not immediately return a call requesting details about Cooke?s status and NASA?s choice for HEO deputy associate administrator.

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we're one step closer to a global space agency with this. resource consolidation is the way to go. i also agree that this signals NASA's change in direction, they've had enough low orbit operations and want to go further. we have an exciting decade ahead of us in terms of space exploration, it'll be good.

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