Space the beyond

Sent: Tue Mar 02 12:34:12 2010

Subject: Plan B team

Steve Robert and I talked to Charlie and he agreed to let us set up a “Plan B” team (my term, since Chairman Gordon asked Charlie about his “plan B” at the hearing) to look at what a potential compromise might look like.  Charlie is meeting with Chairman Gordon in a couple days and asked for a one pager with talking points  before his meeting.  Please contact Gary Lyles, Ed Mango, and Mark Geyer  to develop that one pager quickly, and set up a team (you can name it anything you want—I don’t recommend Constellation or Orion).  Robert and I mentioned the importance of three areas: a human spacecraft development effort; a heavy lift launch vehicle development effort; a launch vehicle test program.  Your white paper is a good basis, but please work with Gary, Ed and Mark.  Our desire is to establish a team to flesh this out, then report to Charlie through Doug Cooke.  Living within the budget is a huge issue, since it’s doubtful we’ll get more funding.  Mike