Summary of Lori Garver's Escaping Gravity

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 I had a conversation with Barack Obama in 2008, when he was the Democratic presidential nominee, about NASA. I explained to him that the Shuttle was the most visible part of NASA, but its designated purpose had been to lower launch costs and make space travel routine. However, it had never come close to achieving this goal.

#2 I had been attracted to a career at NASA that involved space because I saw infinite potential in it. I was a child of the 1960s who loved a challenge, and space seemed like the most meaningful challenge ahead. I was determined to make a difference.

#3 The first disturbance in the force came when Senator Bill Nelson declined to schedule a meeting with us. The Florida Democrat's stated reasons were nebulous, and didn't involve me. I couldn't believe a single Democratic senator's personal views were enough to sideline the President's extremely well-qualified nominee.

#4 The Bush administration had budgeted money for the Space Station, which would have been used to cover the funding shortfall of Constellation. The next president would have been tasked with adding several billion dollars a year to keep money flowing to Shuttle, Constellation, and Space Station contractors.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jul 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822547032

IRB Media

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Insights on Lori Garver's Escaping Gravity

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I had a conversation with Barack Obama in 2008, when he was the Democratic presidential nominee, about NASA. I explained to him that the Shuttle was the most visible part of NASA, but its designated purpose had been to lower launch costs and make space travel routine. However, it had never come close to achieving this goal.

#2

I had been attracted to a career at NASA that involved space because I saw infinite potential in it. I was a child of the 1960s who loved a challenge, and space seemed like the most meaningful challenge ahead. I was determined to make a difference.

#3

The first disturbance in the force came when Senator Bill Nelson declined to schedule a meeting with us. The Florida Democrat's stated reasons were nebulous, and didn't involve me. I couldn't believe a single Democratic senator's personal views were enough to sideline the President's extremely well-qualified nominee.

#4

The Bush administration had budgeted money for the Space Station, which would have been used to cover the funding shortfall of Constellation. The next president would have been tasked with adding several billion dollars a year to keep money flowing to Shuttle, Constellation, and Space Station contractors.

#5

The Obama administration’s first full budget publicly requested $19 billion for NASA to fly the Shuttle safely and extend the Space Station, increase funding for Earth sciences, advanced technology, rocket engine development, and infrastructure revitalization, and begin a partnership with US industry to transport astronauts to the Space Station.

#6

I was attacked by Democrats and Republicans in Congress, by the aerospace industry, and by hero astronauts for proposing an agenda that didn’t suit their parochial interests. The elation and promise of the administration’s potential to drive meaningful change was already being threatened by the trillion-dollar military-industrial complex.

#7

Senator Nelson asked repeatedly about the $6 billion intended to fund Commercial Crew taxis in the budget proposal, asking what would happen if Congress decided—since the Congress controls the purse strings—that we wanted to take the $6 billion projected by the President over the next five years and use that not for human certification of the commercial vehicles but instead to accelerate the heavy-lift vehicle for the Mars program.

#8

The battle between the old and