Keith Cowing is
an American astrobiologist, former
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
employee, and the editor of the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
space program
A space program is an organized effort by a government or a company with a goal related to outer space.
Lists of space programs include:
* List of government space agencies
* List of private spaceflight companies
* List of human spaceflight prog ...
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
''NASA Watch''. He is a
credentialed NASA
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and is known to be a
critic
A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...
of NASA activities and
policies
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...
.
NASA Watch
''NASA Watch'' is a website blog which provides insider information and commentary about the United States space program and the U.S. government agency, NASA.
The first posting was in March, 1996. Cowing is a strong supporter of human spaceflight.
Cowing started the website when
Daniel Goldin
Daniel Saul Goldin (born July 23, 1940) served as the 9th and longest-tenured Administrator of NASA from April 1, 1992, to November 17, 2001. He was appointed by President George H. W. Bush and also served under Presidents Bill Clinton and Geo ...
was administrator of NASA and at that time expressed harsh criticism of Goldin's policies. The inciting event for Keith was the mass layoffs in the transition from
Space Station Freedom
Space Station ''Freedom'' was a NASA project to construct a permanently crewed Earth-orbiting space station in the 1980s. Although approved by then-president Ronald Reagan and announced in the 1984 State of the Union address, ''Freedom'' wa ...
to the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
. For several years, NASA refused to accredit Cowing as a journalist and denied him access to NASA media events. Cowing was eventually granted full press accreditation.
Cowing was a firm supporter of Goldin's successor as administrator,
Sean O'Keefe
Sean Charles O'Keefe (born January 27, 1956) is a university professor at Syracuse University Maxwell School, former chairman of Airbus Group, Inc., former Secretary of the Navy, former Administrator of NASA, and former chancellor of Louisiana S ...
, appointed by
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
. Cowing also obtained exclusive first-hand information about the genesis of the
Vision for Space Exploration
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...
, detailed in the book ''New Moon Rising'' which Cowing wrote with Frank Sietzen.
When
Michael Griffin was NASA administrator, the relationship between NASA Watch and NASA seemed to have been a more confrontational one. Cowing, as well as other space program insiders, commented negatively about a return to Goldin-style management practices under Griffin.
Cowing dubbed Monday, June 13, 2005 as ''Black Monday'' when many NASA personnel were sent reassignment letters.
Publications
* Phillips, Robert W.; Cowing, Keith (1993)
"Space Station Freedom: A Unique Laboratory for Gravitational Biology Research."(Article.) Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. Volume 96, no. 1/2, p. 80-86. OCLC Number: 480268661.
* Cowing, Keith (2002)
''Astrobiology has arrived'' National Space Society. OCLC Number: 49716292
* Sietzen (Jr.), Frank; Cowing, Keith L. (January 14, 2004)
(Article.
Space Ref
* Dick, Steven J.; Cowing, Keith; et al. (2005)
''Risk and exploration: earth, sea and the stars: NASA administrator's symposium, September 26-29, 2004, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.''National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). OCLC Number: 68963879
References
Further reading
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External links
NASA Watchofficial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowing, Keith
Space advocates
American political websites
Internet properties established in 1996
Living people
American male journalists
NASA people
Astrobiologists
Year of birth missing (living people)