Skip to main content
Our Work

NASA Mission Critical Workforce, Infrastructure, and Technology

Completed

Topics

This study will review the critical facilities, workforce, and technology needed to achieve NASA’s long-term strategic goals and mission objectives.

The Committee will consider NASA's mission objectives and strategic goals, identify the critical facilities, workforce, and technologies needed to accomplish these goals, and provide prioritized recommendations on actions to improve or support these critical capabilities. The final report will recommend high-level actions to bolster the workforce, infrastructure, and technological capabilities that enable transformational achievements at NASA, including those that could benefit from cross-directorate collaboration.

About Past Events

Description

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) will appoint an ad hoc committee to conduct a high-level review of NASA’s workforce, infrastructure, and technological capabilities that are most relevant to the strategic goals specified in NASA’s 2022 Strategic Plan and other key guiding documents. The committee will consider emerging technologies in selected engineering and science disciplines as well as critical facilities needed, and workforce skills required to perform and support the work of the mission directorates, both now and in the future.
The committee will pay particular attention to critical areas of NASA-wide interest that cross mission directorate boundaries, and the critical mission support underpinning mission accomplishments. The committee will make prioritized recommendations on actions needed to better align NASA’s engineering and science workforce, skills, physical and systems infrastructure, and technologies with NASA’s mission objectives and strategic goals. Recommendations will address improvements and additions to modeling capabilities, critical infrastructure, test facilities, and support required to perform the work.
The scope of the study will include all NASA mission directorates, including the Mission Support Directorate.

Contributors

Committee

Chair

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Download all bios

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

The conflict of interest policy of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (http://www.nationalacademies.org/coi) prohibits the appointment of an individual to a committee authoring a Consensus Study Report if the individual has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the task to be performed. An exception to this prohibition is permitted if the National Academies determines that the conflict is unavoidable and the conflict is publicly disclosed. A determination of a conflict of interest for an individual is not an assessment of that individual's actual behavior or character or ability to act objectively despite the conflicting interest.

Hans Koenigsmann has a conflict of interest in relation to his service on the Committee on NASA Mission Critical Workforce, Infrastructure, and Technology because of his position as advisor to Vast Space and Stoke Space, and because of shares owned in Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX).

The National Academies has concluded that in order for the committee to accomplish the tasks for which it was established, its membership must include at least one person who has recent experience in the development of technology at new commercial space enterprises and from within the private space launch industry. As described in their biographical summary, Hans Koenigsmann has experience in developing avionics, guidance, and control systems for SpaceX and has supported nearly 100 launches including as launch chief engineer. He also has experience in advising technology development for new commercial space enterprises such as Vast Space and Stoke Space.

The National Academies has determined that the experience and expertise of Hans Koenigsmann is needed for the committee to accomplish the task for which it has been established. The National Academies could not find another available individual with the equivalent experience and expertise who does not have a conflict of interest. Therefore, the National Academies has concluded that the conflict is unavoidable.

The National Academies believes that Hans Koenigsmann can serve effectively as a member of the committee, and the committee can produce an objective report, taking into account the composition of the committee, the work to be performed, and the procedures to be followed in completing the study.

Committee Membership Roster Comments

Jaiwon Shin - resigned 8/8/2023

Sponsors

NASA

Staff

Daniel Nagasawa

Lead

Christopher Jones

Lead

Gaybrielle Holbert

More like this

Subscribe to Email from the National Academies
Keep up with all of the activities, publications, and events by subscribing to free updates by email.