ESCAPING GRAVITY

A former deputy administrator of NASA (2009-2013) recounts her attempts to modernize the agency by enlisting the efforts of private business to cut costs and innovate.

In the prologue, Garver writes about how she received a death threat after speaking at a space conference, and much of the rest of the book details how she “made some powerful enemies” in the space establishment. In the first chapter, the author chronicles how she told Barack Obama, then a Democratic candidate for president, why she opposed extending the space shuttle program. She cited the cost, the failure of the program to fulfill the goal of 40 to 50 missions annually, and the loss of two full astronaut crews. She recommended drawing on the ability of private companies to take on routine elements of the program, freeing NASA to focus on more pressing issues, such as climate change. Garver’s forthright critique led to her being asked to lead the NASA transition team in the event of Obama’s election. She accepted the offer, eventually winning the post of deputy administrator to astronaut Charlie Bolden. In her new position, she found herself up against not only the entrenched NASA establishment—the “cup boys,” named for their coffee cups bearing their military call signs—but also members of Congress determined to protect high-budget projects in their districts. In a hard-hitting text, Garver names names, gives details of the backroom deals she fought against, and generally portrays NASA as an egregious example of the military-industrial complex. Nonetheless, she managed to smooth the way for emerging “space pirates” such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson, whose reusable commercial rockets promise to allow NASA to shift to its real missions rather than spending taxpayer dollars to develop launch vehicles. Walter Isaacson provides the foreword.

A scathing memoir that shows the ugly side of NASA while offering hope for a better future for the space agency.