Workforce Transition Strategy Biannual Report - Second Edition

10.08.08 This report responds to direction in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-161):

"The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall prepare a strategy for minimizing job losses when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration transitions from the Space Shuttle to a successor human-rated space transport vehicle. This strategy shall include: (1) specific initiatives that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has undertaken, or plans to undertake, to maximize the utilization of existing civil servant and contractor workforces at each of the affected Centers; (2) efforts to equitably distribute tasks and workload between the Centers to mitigate the brunt of job losses being borne by only certain Centers; (3) new workload, tasks, initiatives, and missions being secured for the affected Centers; and (4) overall projections of future civil servant and contractor workforce levels at the affected Centers. The Administrator shall transmit this strategy to Congress not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act. The Administrator shall update and transmit to Congress this strategy not less than every six months thereafter until the successor human-rated space transport vehicle is fully operational."

The transition from Space Shuttle to Constellation over the next few years provides a rare opportunity to reinvigorate the Nation’s space exploration capabilities. During that time, NASA’s greatest challenge and top priority will be to safely fly out the Space Shuttle manifest, complete assembly of the International Space Station (ISS), and honor commitments to our international partners prior to retiring the Shuttle in 2010, all while developing the new Constellation space systems and preparing them for flight as soon as possible after the Shuttle’s last mission.