Michael D. Griffin

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For other people named Michael Griffin, see Michael Griffin (disambiguation).
Michael D. Griffin
Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
In office
April 13, 2005 – January 20, 2009
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
DeputyShana Dale
Preceded bySean O'Keefe
Succeeded byCharles Bolden
Personal details
Born
Michael Douglas Griffin

(1949-11-01) November 1, 1949 (age 74)
Aberdeen, Maryland, U.S.
Education

Michael Douglas Griffin (born November 1, 1949)

Administrator of NASA from April 13, 2005, to January 20, 2009. As NASA Administrator Griffin oversaw such areas as private spaceflight, future human spaceflight to Mars, and the fate of the Hubble telescope
.

While he describes himself as a "simple aerospace engineer from a small town", Griffin has held several high-profile political appointments. In 2007 he was included in the TIME 100, the magazine's list of the 100 most influential people.[3] Griffin's appointment as Administrator was associated with a significant shift in the direction of the agency. He began signaling intended changes at his Senate confirmation hearing.

Career

Griffin's early career began at APL in the 1980s, where he helped design the successful Delta 180 series of missile defense technology satellites for the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO). Griffin soon rose to Deputy for Technology where he conceived and directed the first space-to-space interception of a ballistic missile in powered flight, and the first space-borne reconnaissance of ballistic missile targets in boost phase and mid-course flight.[4]

In 1991, Griffin was the President and CTO of

Orbital Sciences,[5]
then a small entrepreneurial space launch company In 1995, Griffin authored a report published by The Heritage Foundation, "Ending America's Vulnerability to Ballistic Missiles", offering recommendations for advancing the recently cancelled Brilliant Pebbles program.[6] There he advocated for a new proliferated low Earth orbit constellation of sensors and space-based interceptor weapons to defend against ballistic missiles.

In early 2002 he met entrepreneur

CIA to identify and invest in companies developing cutting-edge technologies that serve national security interests.[9]

In 2005, Griffin was appointed NASA Administrator where he pushed for new commercial-driven space capabilities.

Orbital Sciences contracts with a combined value of $3.5 billion as part of a follow-on Commercial Resupply Services program.[12]

In February 2018, Griffin was appointed as

CIA Director Mike Pompeo called the project a “Strategic Defense Initiative for our time, the SDI II".[16]

Griffin has encouraged the development of boost-glide

hypersonic weapons such as the AGM-183 ARRW. In 2020, he signaled that the United States would be making a major investment in production of hypersonic weaponry at scale.[17]

Before his appointment as NASA Administrator, Griffin was President-Elect of

ISBN 1-56347-539-1 Griffin is also a general aviation flight Instructor and Pilot, and owner of a small airplane, a Beech Bonanza. In 2004 Griffin was named head of the Space Department at Johns Hopkins University APL.[18]

Education

Griffin holds seven

MBA degree from Loyola University Maryland in 1990; and an MS degree in civil engineering from George Washington University in 1998.[19][20] Griffin was also working toward an MS degree in computer science
at Johns Hopkins University before being appointed as NASA chief.

In April 2009, Griffin was named eminent scholar and a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Long-term vision for space

In 2004 testimony to Congress on the future of human spaceflight, he stated, "For me, the single overarching goal of human space flight is the human settlement of the Solar System, and eventually beyond. I can think of no lesser purpose sufficient to justify the difficulty of the enterprise, and no greater purpose is possible." In his testimony he also advocated heavy-lift launch capabilities, development of space qualified nuclear power systems, in situ resource utilization, and cost-effective medium-size transport to low Earth orbit. Griffin told a Senate subcommittee that the first book he ever received was a book on astronomy and space when he was five years old, and "I was absolutely fascinated by it, and from that time forward, I never considered for myself anything other than being a Scientist or Engineer or Mathematician and involving myself in the space business."

Griffin has collaborated with several space advocacy organizations such as the

Planetary Society
:

  • Griffin and Astronaut
    Owen K. Garriott were team co-leaders for a study commissioned by the Planetary Society entitled "Extending Human Presence Into the Solar System" in 2004. Griffin cited this study in his first press conference as NASA Administrator to answer a question about sending humans to Mars, saying "I would urge you to download that report from the website because I don't have any better thinking to offer you than what I put into that report."[22]
  • Griffin was one of the original signatories of the Mars Society, which is dedicated to human settlement of Mars. Mars Society president Robert Zubrin recounts in his 1996 book, The Case for Mars, that in 1991, after Zubrin presented his ideas about a Mars mission architecture with Griffin, then NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration, Griffin presented these ideas to then NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin.
  • Griffin shared the plenary talk with Elon Musk at the fourth Mars Society gathering in 2001. It was here that Musk announced his plan to grow plants on Mars.[23]

NASA Administrator

Griffin's official portrait as NASA administrator
Michael Griffin was formally sworn in by Vice President Dick Cheney on June 28, 2005.

On March 11, 2005, President

Senate on April 13, 2005. Griffin was subsequently sworn in by Vice-president Dick Cheney, a rarity for a NASA Administrator and signifying the importance NASA held to the Bush Administration. Administration even recalled its former NASA transition Team Director and Chief of Staff, Courtney Stadd,[24] to assist Griffin.[25]

On September 28, 2007, Griffin said that NASA aims to put a man on Mars by 2037.[26]

In an interview with The Guardian in July 2008 Griffin stated, in criticism of the Space Shuttle program, that an opportunity to push on to Mars by extending the Apollo program was squandered by a change in focus to Shuttle and space station programs that only reached orbit: "I spent some time analysing what we could have done had we used the budgets we received to explore the capabilities inherent in the Apollo hardware after it was built. The short answer is we would have been on Mars 15 or 20 years ago, instead of circling endlessly in low Earth orbit."[27]

Questions concerning NASA budget management

Griffin has been criticized by space research organizations such as

NASA Ames Research Center life sciences group for shifting portions of NASA's budget from science to human spaceflight. Griffin had stated that he would not shift "one thin dime" of funding from science to human spaceflight, but less than six months later, in February 2006, after NASA Constellation funding did not reach requested levels, NASA revealed a budget that reduced space research funding by about 25%, including indefinite deferrals of planned programs such as the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, the Terrestrial Planet Finder, and the Space Interferometry Mission.[28] The logic was that funding Project Constellation
, a presidentially mandated program, was the top priority of the space agency. Funding for a New York Company to research the Prometheus space nuclear program has also been put on hold, although Griffin has said he is anxious to pursue Prometheus after the earlier-priority development of the new spacecraft is completed.[citation needed]

Earlier, in November 2005, funding for life science research conducted largely out of Ames Research Center was cut by 80%, prompting representatives of the Ames life sciences group to write a scathing letter to Griffin criticizing this cut.[29] NASA field centers focused mainly on science rather than on human spaceflight, such as Ames and

National Research Council also concluded that NASA's total funding has not been enough to fulfill all its mandates and remain strong in science.[32] However, during Griffin's term, science budgets were, as a percentage of NASA's total budget, in line with those during Project Apollo. There has been some discussion, after the release of the Summary Report by the Human Space Flight Committee[33]
that NASA has not been funded sufficiently to pursue a strong science program while continuing to focus on aeronautics and space exploration, the two key mission of the NASA. Limitations on NASA's budget include a mandated continuation of the Space Shuttle program, including safety upgrades and testing; the mandated construction of the International Space Station; the mandated development of the Vision for Space Exploration architecture; programs outside of human spaceflight, consisting of science research and aeronautics research; and an ever-increasing share of NASA's budget devoted to line-item earmarks sometimes characterized as pork barrel spending.[citation needed]

Struggles to complete ISS before Shuttle program termination

Vision for Space Exploration, announced by President Bush in 2004, mandated that NASA must use the Space Shuttle to finish construction of the International Space Station by the end of 2010. By June 2006, due to ongoing concerns with the safety of the Shuttle in the wake of the Columbia disaster, only one flight had been performed. Per the Presidential mandate of the Vision for Space Exploration, Griffin mandated that 18 more Space Shuttle flights be performed in the remaining four and a half years.

Griffin approved the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery for July 2006 to perform the second return-to-flight mission, overriding the NASA Chief Safety and Mission Assurance Officer, Bryan O'Connor. Although O'Connor said there were still unresolved concerns that foam insulation could break off of external fuel tank and damage the orbiter, Griffin characterized the risk as acceptable, arguing that it would be better to test one change at a time. With that flight NASA was testing the removal of protuberance air-load ramps from cable and fuel line fittings on the exterior of the external fuel tank.[34] This launch proved that the changes made to prevent shedding of foam at the air-load ramps were successful, allowing the Shuttle program to work towards completion of the ISS by the presidentially mandated year of 2010. The construction of the ISS was completed in early 2011, and then the Space Shuttle was retired.

Global warming views

In a follow-up interview to his May 31 interview with

NPR's Steve Inskeep airing June 1, 2007, on NPR News' Morning Edition
, Griffin said:

I have no doubt that global—that a trend of

global warming
exists. I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with. To assume that it is a problem is to assume that the state of Earth's climate today is the optimal climate, the best climate that we could have or ever have had and that we need to take steps to make sure that it doesn't change. First of all, I don't think it's within the power of human beings to assure that the climate does not change, as millions of years of history have shown, and second of all, I guess I would ask which human beings -where and when-are to be accorded the privilege of deciding that this particular climate that we have right here today, right now is the best climate for all other human beings. I think that's a rather arrogant position for people to take.[35]

Some climate scientists referred to his remarks as ignorant.

Jerry Mahlman, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said that Griffin was either "totally clueless" or "a deep antiglobal warming ideologue".[39]
In a closed-door meeting on June 4, 2007, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Griffin said:

"Unfortunately, this is an issue which has become far more political than technical, and it would have been well for me to have stayed out of it." "All I can really do is apologize to all you guys. ... I feel badly that I caused this amount of controversy over something like this."[36]

Resignation accepted by new president Obama

It was widely known that Griffin hoped to keep his job under President Barack Obama so that Constellation and NASA's other programs could maintain their steady progress.[40]

Bill Nelson (D, FL) requested of Lori Garver, who led the incoming Obama Administration's Transition Team, that the Administration allow Griffin to remain as NASA Administrator to provide programmatic and management continuity. However, his resignation (required of and offered by all agency heads due to an incoming President) was accepted. In part, this was because of disagreements between Griffin and Garver over the state of Project Constellation. Griffin gave a farewell address to NASA on 16 January 2009, in which he praised NASA for its recovery from the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster and urged employees to support the new administrator, whoever it may be.[43][44]
He left office the day President Obama was inaugurated.

Later career

On April 14, 2009, Griffin accepted a position as eminent scholar and Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the

U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal. The campus serves as the anchor tenant in Cummings Research Park
, the second-largest university research park in the USA. In a 2010 Space Foundation survey, Griffin was ranked as the #7 most popular space hero.[47]

On August 14, 2012, the Schafer Corporation announced that Griffin would assume the role of chairman and CEO at the company.[48] The Schafer Corporation is a technology company providing products and professional services to Government and Industry customers. It was founded in 1972.[49]

Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering

On December 4, 2017, Reuters reported that Griffin was nominated by President Donald Trump to be Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)).[50] The U.S. Senate confirmed him by voice vote on February 15, 2018.[2][51][needs update] As the USD(R&E), Griffin established technology modernization priorities for the DoD.[52]

On June 23, 2020, Griffin announced that he was leaving his position as USD(R&E) to pursue a private sector opportunity.[53] His deputy, Lisa Porter, announced her departure on the same date.

Rocket Lab

In August 2020, Griffin joined the board of directors at Rocket Lab, a recent SPAC.[54] As of December 12, 2022 Griffin has sold all company shares granted to him. The stock had lost more than 60% of its value since it became publicly traded in November 2020.

Honors

Griffin is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Defense Department's highest award which can be conferred on a Non-Government employee, Distinguished Public Service Medal (1986); AIAA Space Systems Medal (1988), Significant Technical Accomplishment Award (Delta 183 Mission Team) from American Defense Preparedness Association (1989); NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal (1994); Goddard Astronautics Award (2007); and selection by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2008. Griffin received the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement's National Space Trophy in May 2009.[55]

On March 13, 2008, Griffin was awarded the title of 74th Honorary Chancellor at Florida Southern College during its annual Founder's Day Ceremony. On May 22, 2011, Griffin was awarded honorary DE degree from the University of Notre Dame.[56]

On July 11, 2018, asteroid

main-belt asteroid was discovered by astronomer Marc Buie at the Kitt Peak National Observatory
, Arizona, in 2006.

On January 1 of 2020, Michael Griffin was named an IEEE fellow.

References

  1. ^ "Michael Griffin | Biography, NASA, & Facts". Encyclopædia Britannica. 28 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b Tritten, Travis J. "Senate picks up the pace with confirmations of Pentagon Chief Manager, top Air Force weapons buyer". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  3. ^ "The 2008 Time 100". Time. Archived from the original on May 2, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  4. ^ U.S. Department of Defense (1 April 2020). "Michael D. Griffin, Former Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering". The Washington Post.
  5. ^ Kathy Sawyer (11 May 1999). "Rocket Failures Shake Space Industry, Washington Post". The Washington Post.
  6. ^ Michael Douglas Griffin (15 March 1996). "Defending America: Ending America's Vulnerability to Ballistic Missiles" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 25, 2022.
  7. ^ Kenneth Chang (30 May 2020). "Entrepreneur Tries His Midas Touch in Space, New York Times". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 June 2020.
  8. ISBN 978-0-06-297997-1
    .
  9. ^ "IN-Q-TEL NAMES DR. MICHAEL D. GRIFFIN AS PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER". 5 August 2002.
  10. ^ Tariq Malik (21 November 2005). "Griffin Reiterates NASA's Commitment to Commercial Cargo, Space News".
  11. ^ Bennett, Jay (12 November 2020). "How SpaceX became NASA's go-to ride into orbit". National Geographic. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021.
  12. ^ John Yembrick (23 December 2008). "C08-069: NASA Awards Space Station Commercial Resupply Services Contracts". Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  13. ^ Sandra Erwin, Space News (21 April 2019). "Space Development Agency a huge win for Griffin in his war against the status quo".
  14. ^ Nathan Strout (24 July 2019). "What will the Space Development Agency really do?".
  15. ^ Erwin, Sandra (5 October 2020). "L3Harris, SpaceX win Space Development Agency contracts to build missile-warning satellites". SpaceNews. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  16. ^ Pompeo, Mike (January 18, 2022). "Nuclear Weapons, China, and a Strategic Defense Initiative for this Century".
  17. ^ Harper, Jon (March 4, 2020). "Just In: Pentagon to Spend Billions Mass-Producing Hypersonic Weapons". National Defense Magazine. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  18. ^ Buckley, Michael (19 April 2004). "Michael Griffin Heads Space Department at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory". JHU Applied Physics Laboratory Press Release.
  19. ^ a b Dr. Michael Griffin. UAH Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  20. ^ a b NASA - Michael Griffin. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  21. OCLC 17464785 – via ProQuest
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  22. ^ "Planetary.org Aim for Mars study report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-27. Retrieved 2006-08-03.
  23. ^ "Mars Society Conventions".
  24. ^ Courtney Stadd
  25. ^ "Charles F. Bolden Jr. Sworn In As Administrator (200907170002HQ)". July 17, 2009 – via Flickr.
  26. ^ "Yahoo.com, NASA aims to put man on Mars by 2037".
  27. ^ "Houston, we have a problem: Nasa will struggle when shuttle retires, says boss" The Guardian July 26, 2008
  28. ^ Benson, Michael (April 2, 2006). "Is NASA in Outer Space?" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  29. ^ "The Scientist News". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2006-06-27.
  30. ^ "Scientists, researchers feel pain of NASA budget cuts - USATODAY.com". USA Today.
  31. ^ Olsen, Stefanie. "NASA budget emphasizes space exploration". CNET. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11.
  32. ^ "Science Careers.org: NASA Cutbacks Cause Uncertainty among Space Researchers". Archived from the original on December 31, 2006.
  33. ^ "NASA - Summary Report from the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee". www.nasa.gov. 8 Sep 2009.
  34. ^ Gugliotta, Guy (June 29, 2006). "Discovery's Goal: A Quiet Trip". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  35. ^ "NASA Administrator Not Sure Global Warming A Problem". www.spacedaily.com.
  36. ^ a b Chang, Alicia (June 6, 2007). "NASA chief regrets remarks on global warming". msnbc.com.
  37. ^ "NASA head unsure global warming is a problem". msnbc.com. June 1, 2007.
  38. ^ Kaufman, Marc (June 1, 2007). "NASA Administrator Questions Need to Fight Global Warming" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  39. ^ "NASA Leader: Who Says Warming Is a Problem?". New York Times. June 1, 2007. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  40. ^ "NASA chief's wife to Obama: Don't fire my husband". ABC News. January 1, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  41. ^ "Campaign to keep NASA administrator on the job". Los Angeles Times. January 1, 2009. Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  42. ^ "NASA Chief's Wife to Obama: Don't Fire My Husband". Associated Press. January 1, 2009. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  43. ^ Dunn, Marcia (2009-01-16). "NASA chief Griffin says goodbye to employees". Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  44. ^ Johnson, John Jr. (2009-01-17). "NASA chief Michael Griffin praises post-Columbia effort in farewell". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  45. UAHuntsville. Archived from the original
    on November 11, 2011. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  46. ^ "Articles Of Incorporation of UAH Hi-Tech Eminent Scholars Foundation" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-20. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  47. ^ "Space Foundation Survey Reveals Broad Range of Space Heroes". Archived from the original on 2012-07-23.
  48. ^ Unknown (2012-08-14). "Schafer Corporation Appoints Michael Griffin Chairman and Chief Executive Officer". Archived from the original on 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  49. ^ "Schafer Corporation - Our Heritage". Archived from the original on 2012-06-27. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  50. ^ "Trump to nominate former NASA chief Griffin for defense undersecretary". Reuters. 2017-12-04. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
  51. ^ "PN1316 — Michael D. Griffin — Department of Defense". U.S. Congress. 2018-02-15. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
  52. ^ "modernization-priorities – DoD Research & Engineering". www.cto.mil. Archived from the original on 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  53. ^ "Undersecretary of Defense Mike Griffin and deputy Lisa Porter stepping down". space.com. 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  54. ^ Foust, Jeff (2020-08-12). "Mike Griffin joins board of Rocket Lab". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  55. ^ Marianne Dyson (2009-02-27). "Rotary National Award for Space Achievement (RNASA) - 2009 National Space Trophy Recipient". Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  56. ^ "University of Notre Dame". Honorary Degrees. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2011.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michael D. Griffin.
Political offices
Preceded by
Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

2005–2009 		Succeeded by
New office Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
2018–2020 		Succeeded by
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