Last month the Advanced Planning Office pulled together a team to look at possible vision statements for the agency. I know a rather tall order, but it is always great to see the energy and creativity found within our JSC when it is unleashed. You can browse some of the ideas at the Open NASA post, NASA Vision and Mission. I know it isn't really a vision statement, but the one phrase that has stuck with me is "Creating the Future: One Giant Leap at a time." I really like the way it sums up the spirit of NASA and honors our past at the same time.

And the more that reflected on that phrase, the more I was struck by the recent events that demonstrated NASA's role in taking these giant leaps. The most recent is LaserMotive LLC winning $900,000 in NASA's 2009 Power Beaming Challenge. This one prize captures the imaginations of two communities and could seed a giant leap in either solar power beaming or a space elevator. LaserMotive won the prize by using a laser to power its robotic climber up a 900 meter cable that was suspended from a helicopter at Edwards Air Force Base in Mojave, California. The climber reached the top in just over 4 minutes, for an average speed of 3.7 meters per second and later repeated the feat at of 3.9 meters per second. Then on October 30th, Masten Space Systems won the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X PRIZE Challenge. What is great about this joint prize between NASA and the X PRIZE Foundation is the community it is creating. I love the quote from Masten Space System's CEO, David Masten, "To come from not flying at all last year to qualifying for level one AND level two of the LLC this year shows how far our technology has progressed." Mark another one in the win column for NASA's ability to spur on Commercial Space.

Yet, what more can we do to take a giant leap forward. Could we partner with Japan on their plans to construct a solar power station in space and use it to beam energy down to Earth using lasers? Or do we build a space only cruiser? What would a space cruiser look like if it never needed to fight the gravity to get off the Earth or a planetary destination? Or is it too farfetched to create a prize for a non-rocket vehicle for access to LEO? While Commercial Space companies are investing in low cost access to Low Earth Orbit using rocket's should NASA partner up to create a prize that will look at the physics for the next LEAP forward in access to space?

OK, I have to say it… I'll even settle for a WARP drive X Prize.

So what prize would you create to make the next LEAP forward?

Sharing the Vision,
Steven González, Deputy, Advanced Planning Office

There is an interesting experiment happening at the Johnson Space Center.  The basic question being addressed by this experiment is “what would happen if we could tap into the expertise of the 15,000 employees at JSC to solve any one of the difficult challenges that we are wrestling with?”   Actually the experiment is also tapping the expertise at the other NASA Centers.  The idea was a brainchild of the JSC Vision 2028 team and the Center Director's, Inclusion and Innovation council engagement teams.  Called Project Blue Moon, it is a six month pilot to create an open collaboration environment across the NASA Community.

In the next few weeks we will get a new Administrator and Deputy Administrator.  Shortly after that we will hear from the new Augustine Committee their recommendations concerning the future of human space exploration.  So what can we expect about the future direction of NASA?  To answer that let me go back four years to the early days of the Advanced Planning Office, when the Director for the Johnson Space Center (JSC), Mike Coats commissioned us to look at the 20 year strategy for JSC.  When we started we conducted an environmental scan which included the changes in commercial space and international space.  The results of the scan and a series of scenario planning activities offered a future vision where Low Earth Orbit (LEO) would be crowded and that NASA could leverage to a greater extent the capabilities outside of the agency allowing us to focus our resources on exploration beyond LEO.  Over the past few years we have been tracking their progress and it has been the source of many of my previous blogs.  Then last fall during the presidential campaign, President Obama offered his view on the future direction of NASA.  It included

• Using the Private Sector: Obama will stimulate efforts within the private sector to develop and demonstrate spaceflight capabilities. NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services is a good model of government/industry collaboration.
• Drawing in International Partners: Obama will encourage a cooperative framework for the conduct of a long-term and sustainable international exploration initiative. This will enable the United States to leverage its resources and to use space exploration as a tool of global diplomacy.

Then earlier this year the Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) stated the following:

The administration and OSTP will develop policies that will:

• Help establish a robust and balanced civilian space program, and engage international partners and the private sector to amplify NASA’s reach.

 Then it’s probably no coincidence that a number of the committee members of the Augustine Committee are from commercial space.  

So are we going to the Moon or Mars or an Asteroid?  My crystal ball is very fuzzy on a destination (although I have my hypothesis that I’ll save for another entry).  Where the trail of the past 4 years leads me is to a rebalance of NASA’s portfolio to include a more integrated strategy with International and Commercial space.  I think that NASA will enter a phase of leading the international and commercial community in defining an integrated human exploration program that leverages all of the assets available across the community.  I think that over the next four years we will find a very different collaboration across the International Space Agencies.  I believe that whatever the destination beyond LEO, it will be a tightly integrated international program. 

The start of the Federation?  Maybe or maybe the international crew currently on the International Space Station and the release of the movie this summer reminded me again of why I joined NASA 21 years ago.  The dream that we would have a united planetary human exploration of space.

Sharing the Vision,

Steven González, Deputy, Advanced Planning Office

My inspiration for getting into strategy development came from a Heinlein novel that a friend of mine recommended eight years ago. The story takes place on a thriving lunar society in the year 2076. What was so fascinating about the novel was not the technology but how humanity will change as it inhabits the stars. It is a great story and I would highly recommend! I mention this novel primarily because of the power it had to focus my career and set me on a new path.

If we could use a similar media to inspire tomorrow's explorers, what would it look like?  Maybe a graphic novel?  Graphic novels have been exponentially growing in popularity with a diverse segment of the population. Not only have they grown to take up a whole row in any Barnes and Noble book store, but they are now the source of a growing number of motion pictures. It is a great graphical way to tell a story and engages a whole new generation.

What if we used a graphic novel format to tell the story of the future Human Exploration missions? Could it be used to inspire a whole new generation or at least inform them of the fact that we are going to the moon and onto Mars? 

With that as a background, I would like to offer you the opportunity to shape the path of future explorers.  There is some momentum building on this idea of a graphic novel for space and here is your chance to help steer the storyline for novel. Let me know what you think about the below nine ideas and/or what additional story lines you would recommend.

1. Journey/tale showing various challenges and achievements of three children that all vow to go to the Moon after an inspirational event. They don't all succeed and life changing events push them to grow in unexpected directions. They all follow different story arcs that occasionally intersect and they are eventually caught up in a global emergency that that takes them to the Moon and beyond.
2. Rescue story demonstrating the ingenuity and spirit of a small lunar outpost crew after the unexpected impact of an asteroid. Using materials salvaged from the outpost they journey to a lava tube below the lunar surface where they set up a temporary base until a vehicle can arrive from Earth.
3. Retrospective of a wealthy entrepreneur that made a fortune in commercial space. From a humble beginning in the rural Midwest, the hero works with NASA as it begins to explore the Moon, asteroids and eventually Mars.
4. Global "Gold Rush" to the Moon after a fusion energy breakthrough make lunar helium 3 very valuable. In competition with "official" missions sponsored by countries are some very shady enterprises that will do whatever it takes to get there first.
5. Explorers on the Moon find evidence of previous visitors. The relics on the Moon point to an ancient base in Antarctica.
6. Inadvertent stowaway on a lunar resupply ship. Child's experiences on lunar base until the next vehicle goes back to Earth.
7. Dateline Moonbase: Journalists embedded at lunar base report on technical, physical and emotional challenges of living and working in space.
8. First return to the moon; living in the habitat facing challenges with teammates, environment, communication, danger, adversity. Faced with unexpected conflicts, danger, health or injuries.
9. Following a diverse group of tweens in any town America that become interested in space travel. One is chosen later to travel to the moon and another to document the adventure.

Sharing the Vision,
Steven González, Deputy, Advanced Planning Office

As we prepare for the next Shuttle mission I am reminded of the great photo that captured two Shuttle vehicles at their respective launch pads. It is easy to look at that picture and admire the incredible capability and accomplishments of our Human Space program. At the same time I can't help but wonder about the parable of the tortoise and the hare. If you recall the tortoise repeated over and over again, "Slow and steady wins the race."

During the month when this Shuttle photo was taken, Zhai Zhigang, the Shenzhou VII mission's commander, was the first taikonaut to take a walk in space. China's third human mission launched on Thursday, September 25th demonstrates China's steady efforts to establish a permanent Chinese Human presence in Space. Also in "mid-September, Moscow and Havana negotiated joint space projects. Anatoly Perminov, director of the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), said the sides had discussed the possibility of setting up a Cuban space center with Russian assistance." The interesting part of this editorial was the reference to Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez. I know who is Mr. Mendez? During the time that we were not flying and preparing for the first shuttle mission, Mr. Mendez was the first Cuban to go into space on September 18, 1980. Now 28 years later, we will probably have two additional space agencies within our western hemisphere. Two? Oh, did I forget to mention how our own astronaut, Jose Hernandez is working on a proposal with Mexico to establish Agencia Espacial Mexicana (Mexican Space Agency).

Yes, many will not see some of these efforts as ever gaining the momentum to challenge our leadership in space. This may be true, but what should be our strategy forward? There are new alliances and relationships being established in the international community that do not include NASA. Should we leverage these relationships or create new ones? If we were to strengthen our ties with India or initiate a new partnership with the Mexican Space Agency, what would it look like? Let me know what you think.

Sharing the Vision,
Steven González, Deputy, Advanced Planning Office

Last year NASA issued a Request for Information, or RFI, for Commercial Lunar Communications & Navigation. The intent was "to gauge interest and solicit ideas from private companies in providing communications and navigation services that would support the development of exploration, scientific and commercial capabilities on the moon over the next 25 years." It is a potential next phase of the agency's emphasis to encourage commercial space as it is doing with the COTS (Commercial Orbital Transportation System) program in the Commercial Crew & Cargo program office. 

As I reflected on potentially using a commercial satellite provider to enable the astronauts to "phone home" from the moon, I was curious as to what else has been going on in the world of space commerce. In the process I stumbled across this blog entry by Dr. Peter Diamandis, SUCCESS!!! Using Economic Engines to open the space frontier. In it he reflects on how the public flight of the Rocket Racing League "X-Racer" and the rollout of White Knight 2 were so critical. What caught my attention was his reflection on the X-Racer and how it "is tapping into the multi-billion dollar entertainment marketplace" and it is "a company which is exciting the public about space and driving the development of low-cost and reliable engines." Of course he states his personal reasons for his enthusiasm about the X-Racer but it made me wonder what else could NASA do to encourage, foster, sponsor space commerce. What role should NASA play in enabling space commerce? For me, the benefit for NASA would be greater infrastructure that NASA could leverage as it explores beyond LEO.

If you haven't had a chance to place your votes with the recent set of twitter polls focused on NASA's future focus (NASA poll, Outside of NASA poll) I would encourage you to submit your vote.  You will find an interesting trend on the external poll.  It points to NASA having a greater focus on helping to develop commercial space.  The missing data is what should we do to fulfill this focus?

Let me know what you think our role should be as it relates to commercial space and what other efforts could be taken to spur on space commerce?

Sharing the Vision,
Steven Gonzalez, Deputy, Advanced Planning Office

 This summer the Washington post ran an article titled “U.S. Finds It's Getting Crowded Out There: Dominance in Space Slips as Other Nations Step Up Efforts”.  At first glance the article could be taken as a pessimistic view of the future for the Agency, but for me it is an affirmation of the strategy that Mike Coats, JSC Center Director, has been sharing with the JSC leadership for the past two years.   

During the summer of 2006 this image was generated to capture the perspective that LEO will be getting crowded and we could either choose to compete in a crowded LEO or lead the International team to explore beyond LEO.  Mr. Coats decided that consistent with the Agency vision, we should begin focusing our sights on leading the integrated International team, comprised of both government and private industry to extend human presence beyond LEO.  (Yes, I know Mars does not orbit the Earth, but the figure is trying to represent the idea that the next destination beyond the moon is Mars).

Leading, we have found, is a tricky word.  It carries so many different connotations with so many different communities.  For JSC and NASA, leading the integrated International team is only possible if the leadership of each participant in the team is acknowledged.  Two years ago Mike Coats encouraged each organization to reach out to the leaders across the space flight community and across industry to benchmark and where it made sense to partner with those organizations.  He realized that capability will continue to grow outside of our gates and that humanity’s ability to reach beyond LEO lay in bringing together the acknowledged leaders in the various communities.  His call for benchmarking and partnerships has led to strong collaborations with the Engineering leadership across the Agency and with the software development and simulation expertise at Ames, just to name a few.  Acknowledging the leadership of each of the participants in the collaboration has made the collective team stronger.  Recently JSC’s Space Life Sciences directorate acknowledged the leadership role that the Rice Business Alliance plays in spurring Innovation by providing seed money for proposals benefiting the human system.  Leveraging the leadership of Rice’s Business Plan competition will in the end leverage the entrepeneurial spirit across a larger community.

Ok, so what does this have to do with the growing space faring capability in the International community that is highlighted in the Washington Post article?  I believe NASA's current strengths address the future described in the article in three ways.  First, the International Space Station has given this Agency the unique ability to collaborate and integrate the efforts of an international team.  We have established relationships that we can continue to strengthen as the International community grows their Space Exploration capabilities.  Because of these relationships we can celebrate the strengthening of the international team instead of bemoaning the fact that they are gaining capabilities as implied by the Washington post article.  Secondly, there is a spirit of solution seekers that is permeating the Agency.  Instead of always looking within, there is a growing emphasis to find the best solutions across the community, regardless if it is at another Center, commercial space or International.  As one Senior JSC leader is fond of saying, “It is not either/or.  It is AND.”  It is not a case of the International community or NASA.  It is not they lead or NASA leads.  It is we lead by capitalizing on our collective strengths. 

Finally the Center and the Agency is focusing more and more on growing an environment and culture of innovation and collaboration.  An organization that is continually innovating will continue to grow and adapt to the changing dynamics surrounding it.  

What do you think about the Washington Post article?  Do you agree or disagree?  If you agree, how can the Agency better position itself?

Sharing the Vision,

Steven Gonzalez, Deputy, Advanced Planning Office

There is a great video called "Shift Happens" that I would highly recommend. Even though there are advocates and critics on both sides of this video, it brings up some excellent points about how the environment is changing around us and encourages one to consider what we are doing to prepare for the shift. During the spring of 2008, quite a bit of activity had occurred that hint at a shift in the JSC community towards the Center Directors Vision. It has been exciting in so many arenas that I'm reminded of the line from the movie Princess Bride, where Mandy Patinkin tries to sum up the events that have transpired, "Let me 'splain.... No, there is too much. Let me sum up." So, to sum up...

Back in May JSC had its first Vision Forum aimed at getting a broad spectrum of opinions on a JSC 20 year vision and the associated set of tactics that Mike Coats had requested from a team of Next Gen'ers. The JSC 20 year vision was to capture that Generations perspective on the JSC environment as it supported the Agency's strategic goals when they became Directors and Program Managers.  The Vision forum was attended by a great mix of generations, disciplines and organizations. We received a great deal of feedback with two overriding themes that captured the general mood of the event. First, everyone agreed with the attributes captured in the JSC 20 Year Vision and secondly, everyone wanted to know how they could be more involved in the activities to move the center forward. It was energizing to see the enthusiasm and interest from so many wanting to help steer the future direction of the Johnson Space Center.

During the first week of June the JSC 20 year vision was presented to the JSC Leadership team. Not only was it well received but we discovered activities being conducted in each of the directorates that are moving the Center towards a more open, collaborative, innovative, integrated organization. We also discovered there was a great deal of synergy between the 20 year vision tactics and a set of engagement teams that Mike Coats' Innovation Council was considering deploying. Also, there was a great deal of overlap between the vision and the focus of the Innovation and Inclusion Council. The focus of this council is to continue to grow an environment of open mindedness, inclusion and innovation.

At the end of June, the Innovation Council, JSC 20 year vision and a set of initiatives from JSC's Joint Leadership Team were merged and presented to the JSC Joint Leadership Team. The resulting recommendation was the formation of seven engagement teams to identify activities to address various aspects of the JSC community. These focus of the seven teams are as follows: Information Technology; Recruiting/Ultimate Employee Experience; Mentoring; Work/Life Fit; Awards and Recognition; Barrier Analysis and the Communication Teams. An exciting shift is happening at JSC.  My question this week is what can be done across the Agency to encourage a shift across all NASA centers?

Sharing the Vision,
Steven Gonzalez, Deputy, Advanced Planning Office

I must admit that last week I got that pleased, grateful feeling like the one I get from being "carded" at the grocery store checkout line when I purchase a bottle of wine. It has been a while since I was the age of a Gen Y'er, but I took it as a great complement to be mistaken for one last week. For those that do not know me, I am a "Baby Boomer" with 20 years of experience at JSC and most of my blog entries have been from a "boomer" perspective. Granted, those that know me best would not categorize me as having the typical "Baby Boomer" perspective, but is there really a perspective that captures an entire Generation? No, but I do think there is a difference between the image we have of NASA before we arrive and the image after we have been supporting this great organization. So, let me share how the image changed for me and why it is good to revisit our original vision. To that end, join me in visualizing those two images.

For many in my generation it was the Apollo program or Star Trek that sealed our future with NASA. For me it was the original voyages of the Starship Enterprise.  Yes, I am one of those that would love to see the mission of the agency to be, "To Boldly Go where No one has gone before." My expectation was that upon entering the gates of NASA, I would find someone working on the Warp drive or a transporter. I thought that there would be people working on projects that pushed the boundaries of space and time. I expected Mission Control to look like the deck of the Enterprise. Instead, I found the Apollo Mission Control configuration that worked exceedingly well into the late 1980's. Now don't get me wrong; I believe that we are executing some very exciting missions and have some incredible technology projects occurring in various organizations around the Agency. My point is that my vision of where NASA was heading was different from the reality. I also found that many of my colleagues shared the same opinion.

Over the past 20 years that vision has been challenged by the realities of what is currently possible in the realm of human spaceflight. My original naiveté was reframed by the wisdom gained over the years and yet, there is much to be gained from recapturing the original vision we had when we first drove through the front gate. About 10 years ago I tried to recapture my initial feeling when I first arrived at JSC. It's a long, but great story that can be found in the archived article from the NASA ASK magazine. The end result was that I was able to create a lab focused on looking at the leading and even bleeding edge of technology development. I found exciting research occurring inside and outside the agency that reminded me of the Star Trek technologies. There was the quantum pair possibility of either instant communication over large distances or teleportation and the potential holodeck application of the 3D visualization research at the University of Central Florida. In recapturing my original vision I found labs around the Agency that were collaborating and searching for new, creative ideas around the world. 

Now in 2008 I find myself wondering, what was that original vision of NASA for many of my Generation and the following Generations? What are the reasons why that original vision was not achieved? I carry a Motorola Razr in my pocket to communicate, so why can't NASA push the boundaries of space and time? Earlier this year the Advanced Planning office asked a team of Generation Y leaders where they wanted JSC to be when they became Center Director or Program Managers.  We were asked by many, "Why did you ask Gen Y?" Partly, because they remember the feeling and vision they first had when they arrived at NASA. So think back and recall your original expectations when you arrived at NASA and hold it up to the view gained from wisdom over the years. Then see what unfolds. Yes, I am looking for my fellow Baby Boomers and Gen X'ers to offer their view of the future! Does your original expectation match the reality of where you are at now, FANTASTIC! Please, let me know. If it doesn't, in what ways does it not match?

I'm looking forward to your feedback.

Sharing the Vision,
Steven Gonzalez, Deputy, Advanced Planning Office

Before I expand on this dilemma, let me first acknowledge the artist's work that I have been sharing over the past few weeks. Pat Rawlings' images have inspired me for many years and have been the source of many of my creative views about the future. Most recently I used his images in a conversation with a TV network about space travel 50 years from now.

Of the many definitions of creativity that I have heard over the years my favorite comes from author Dale Dauten. It is best captured in a quote from his book, Better than Perfect, "He brought together two ways of thinking that usually don't go together, so his own brain got stretched. That's one way to be creative - to force together ideas that normally don't go together." So creativity results from holding simultaneously in your mind two thoughts that normally don't go together. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to bring together individuals with different view points and to hold the differing perspectives simultaneously in the room and discover the creativity that is beyond just the sum or compromise of the different ideas. A few years ago Dale Dauten introduced the Innovator's Lab to bring together leaders from different industries to find creative solutions that resulted from the different perspectives within the Innovator's lab community. It is a great concept that we we were fortunate enough to introduce to JSC a few years ago.

Personally I like the distinction that John Kao makes in Innovation Nation between creativity and innovation. Creativity is the rich source of ideas. Innovation is the ability to take an idea and turn it into something useful. The trick is not to throw out the creative ideas because they don't fit into predefined criteria of usefulness. It is easy to allow for the possibilities while brainstorming but it is more difficult to allow for new solutions to what at first glance may appear to be a familiar problem.

Which leads me to the Innovator's Dilemma captured by Clayton Christensen. At the heart of the dilemma is the concept that the success achieved by organizations from their original innovations makes it difficult for it to be innovative and creative in the future. If we applied the dilemma to Human Space Exploration it would state that what made us successful over the fifty years has focused the realm of possibilities within the context of our experience. Therefore, how do we allow for alternative ideas in support of human exploration while simultaneously holding our 50 years of success?  Or stated another way, how do we bring together the multi generations for creative new solutions. Can we hold both perspectives at the same time and find a creative path that is beyond the multiple generational perspectives? How will the multiple creative perspectives come together when we move from creativity to innovation?

Yet, there is another more subtle challenge that results from the Innovator's Dilemma that is captured so well from Steve Boehlke from SFB Associates. In his recent publication, The Politics of Creativity™: Four Domains for Inquiry and Action by Leaders in R&D, he discusses the cost of creativity to the leader, which applies to anyone in the organization. The successful organization defines creativity and innovation within the context of what has enabled its success in the past. What happens to the individual that offers creative and innovative ideas that don't fit within the organization's definition? What happens to the individual that truly believes in his "out of the box" idea and continues to push it forward when it doesn't fit within the historical norms of the organization? I highly recommend reading Steve's examination of this cost for the creative leader. Is the tag "out of the box" thinker a badge of honor in your organization? Is a "trail blazer" encouraged to come to the creativity and innovation table? How is the creative individual rewarded and acknowledged? Going back to Dale's Innovator's lab where different perspectives are brought together for creative new solutions, how do we bring together the "out of the box" thinkers with those with the tried and true perspectives?

Finally, all of the above authors agree that innovation requires failure. If you don't fail in the process then are you really being creative and innovative? The dilemma occurs after success is achieved and the organization no longer has a stomach for failure. Do the systems in place in the organization allow for discovery through failure? Is failure encouraged or discouraged? What would you or your organization do in the classical management example of a senior leader making a million dollar mistake? As the story goes, the leader was called into the CEO's office and was expecting to be fired by the CEO. As he handed his resignation to the CEO, she asked "What is this?" He said "I know you are going to fire me for my mistake and so I figured I'd save you the trouble by turning in my resignation." Amazed, she responded, "Why would I do that, I just spent a million dollars training you. I know that you will never make that mistake again." Mission failures aside, what is your appetite for failure?

Sharing the Vision,
Steven Gonzalez, Deputy, Advanced Planning Office