In case you ever forget that NASA is a government agency, read this essay by a former astronaut who found out that a walk in space is sometimes easier than a stroll at a NASA center.
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Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He's written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic and fights the abuse of science, but his true love is praising the wonders of real science.
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December 13th, 2006 at 9:57 am
I laugh, only because I’ve seen variation of that story played out way too many times in my years as a civilian DoD employee. Technology being what it is today, it should be EASIER to manage personnel access. But just try to use your Navy badge to get onto some Marine Corps bases, good luck. (Wait, isn’t the USMC part of the Navy?!?) Oh, it gets worse: try to use your Navy badge to get into some Navy facilities. Grr…
December 13th, 2006 at 10:22 am
Don’t forget that bureaucracy is only there to help us. It is our friend…
December 13th, 2006 at 10:57 am
As the old saying goes, the bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy.
Rob
December 13th, 2006 at 11:01 am
This is the same government responcible for some of the most mind bogglingly technical cover-ups of all time?
December 13th, 2006 at 12:02 pm
Yeah, I’ve met a few retired astronauts. And they sure seemed like a “security threat” to me. I guess you can’t trust someone who goes to space, works hard for long days in orbit, then comes back to earth and later either gets a new job outside NASA or retires. But let’s give them the chance to “pay” to get in, or let the spouses in without any questions.
Another “fine” job of Homeland Security at it’s best, don’t you think?
December 13th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
“I thought about asking the management about this incongruity, but my instinct about NASA told me that if I did, the wise men in charge would probably revoke the spouse badges rather than allow us terrible astronauts back on site.”
Right on the money there.
December 13th, 2006 at 1:18 pm
The surface of this story is a little amusing. But the undercurrent I perceive is rather disturbing to me. I am generally bothered by organizational stupidity, but when it occurs in an organization that conducts VERY dangerous missions with VERY low error tolerances, then I am alarmed and dismayed. Granted, office security, while important, does not require attention to detail that a launch or a manned mission does. However, I like to think that NASA is an organization that is at the very least capable of forming cogent policy and that the “right hand” knows what the “left hand”is doing. Am I making too much out of this or is there some disarray going on at NASA that might rear it’s ugly head in the form of another tragedy?
December 13th, 2006 at 1:41 pm
I suspect that there is a separate outfit within NASA which is responsible for “security.” Nevertheless, this is really a bollixed policy fer shur. I wonder if the policy DID change since 12/13…
December 13th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
I recall a TV interview with an Apollo astronaut who said when they returned from the Moon and were supposed to be in isolation until they were declared free of any dangerous hitchhiking organisms, they noticed the building they were in had an ant infestation. So if ants could come and go…….
December 13th, 2006 at 5:15 pm
This reminds me of a project I was working on a few years back; the client was an observatory (to remain nameless to protect the innocent). The directive came down from the observatory’s parent body that a security gate had to be erected on the only road going in and out of the property. The director asked if they wanted him to get security fencing to go along with the gate (since the observatory has open space all around it). “They” (the ubiquitous “they”) told him that no, he didn’t need fencing. Just a security gate.
So, now you can’t drive up to XYz observatory on the nights and weekends without a security code to get through the gate, but by golly, you hike or ride your bike AROUND the gate…
December 13th, 2006 at 8:26 pm
This story is hilarious, in sad sort of way. After spending two years at GSFC as a post-doc (read “contractor”) I know more than enough about idiotic security policy at NASA, among other idiotic policies. The REALLY sad part is that NASA is one of the LEAST dysfunctional federal agencies we have.
December 14th, 2006 at 7:09 am
No surprise there. This is the same government that let’s clerks walk out of national research labs with armloads of restricted documents… Pardon me miss, you seem to have your arms full there. Need some help carrying those restricted documents to your car? Wait, don’t forget your complementary sample of enriched uranium.