Getting NASA's Groove Back

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The new, DARPA-like research arm could focus on developing key technologies in advance of specific missions. The group could draw talent from far afield in private companies, universities, or even other government agencies, in a more competitive model. "[The research arm would be] focused not so much on technology that today's program managers require, but on what future program managers would wish they could have if they knew they needed it, or would want if they knew they could have it," the panel's report states. "This effort should engage the best science and engineering talent in the country wherever it resides, in universities, industry, NASA centers, or other government laboratories independent of pressures to sustain competency at the NASA centers."

Space industry experts say that R&D talent is exactly what NASA is lacking. "There are some that say that NASA should be more of an R&D program instead of operating a legacy business," says Clay Mowery, president of Arianespace, a French company that launches satellites for government and private companies. "There is an interest in making it more cutting-edge, but there is a question of whether they have this [capability] in-house anymore. A lot of cutting-edge engineering is not in government hands anymore. It's in the private sector." Although companies like Boeing (BA) and Lockheed Martin (LMT) compete for contracts to build spacecraft, the design and development process itself is done largely in-house by NASA engineers.

Inspired by Apple

A stronger R&D wing could be an effective recruitment tool for getting top-notch engineers, according to Space Foundation spokesperson Brendan Curry. "A lot of the people in the space program are older," he says. "There are younger people who are thinking about working at NASA but might choose Apple (AAPL). It takes Apple only one year to make a new iPhone, but NASA has had the same ship for 30 years." With an R&D organization that could hold competitions and focus on long-term projects, NASA could reinvigorate the drama surrounding the space program and draw cutting-edge talent, says Curry.

Still, Colladay is careful to emphasize that NASA can't do everything at once. Given the agency's current budget, it would be difficult to spend much money on long-term R&D. The report says that current budget levels make it difficult for the agency even to accomplish the shorter-term goals set by Congress. "You can't set up an organization to push ahead of technological requirements if you don't have the money to pursue technological development," says Colladay.

Schectman is a reporter at BusinessWeek.

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