"In recent weeks, copies of an intriguing policy document have started to spread among space lobbyists on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The document bears the title "Athena," and it purports to summarize the actions that private astronaut Jared Isaacman would have taken, were his nomination to become NASA administrator confirmed. The 62-page plan is notable both for the ideas to remake NASA that it espouses as well as the manner in which it has been leaked to the space community."
"In the big picture, this leak appears to be part of a campaign by interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy to either hold onto the high-profile job or, at the very least, prejudice the re-nomination of Isaacman to lead the space agency. Additionally, it is also being spread by legacy aerospace contractors who seek to protect their interests from the Trump administration's goal of controlling spending and leaning into commercial space."
The Athena document is a 62-page, shortened blueprint outlining actions Jared Isaacman would have taken as NASA administrator. The plan emphasizes returning NASA to achieving ambitious human space exploration goals, leading global human spaceflight, igniting the space economy, and acting as a force multiplier for science. Isaacman's nomination was withdrawn in late May for political reasons, and Sean Duffy was appointed interim NASA administrator in early July. The leak appears intended to support Duffy's efforts to retain the position or to undermine Isaacman's renomination. Legacy aerospace contractors are circulating the plan to defend their interests against administration spending controls and a shift toward commercial space.
Read at Ars Technica
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