NASA Goddard Is Confused About Its Own COVID-19 Polices

Keith's note: NASA has asked its employees to work from home during the pandemic. Indeed, an official NASA GSFC publication featured someone from GSFC being creative and working at home - and features them on the cover of the publication. Then Goddard management turns around and says that their own policy prohibits the practice that they just lauded. Really? This is not the way to encourage people to be creative during the pandemic. Safety and liability are one thing. Lauding and then condemning someone for being creative is another. NASA Goddard really needs to get their act together.

Innovating at Home, Cutting Edge, NASA GSFC

"Even though the funding hadn't been approved at the time, there was another concept I could work on at home," Novo-Gradac said. It involved designing and validating a wedge-shaped, 3D optical target for measuring precise drift of the other spacecraft flying in formation. "I don't need 100 meters of range to validate that technology. I can do it on a small bench at home." While she continues to make purchases and design parts on a computer for the original project, the IRAD program agreed to shift most of her funding and labor to the second, mid-year IRAD request for now. "I had to bring home about 10 different instruments," Novo-Gradac said. "My family room had a perfect countertop with an upper deck. Other than having to haul home all that equipment, the experiment was a very manageable thing to bring home."

From: GSFC-Communications <GSFC-Communications@mail.nasa.gov>
Date: Fri, July 31, 2020 10:04 AM -0400
To: GSFC-DL-ALL <GSFC-DL-ALL@mail.nasa.gov>
Subject: Center Policy Prohibits Lab and Technical Space Work at Home

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF TECHNOLOGIST

Dear Colleagues,

It has come to our attention that our recent CuttingEdge cover story about Goddard technologists working from home was in violation of a center policy prohibiting lab and technical space work at home.

Performing lab/technical space work at home is strictly against our center's policy. If there are reasons for which you cannot perform your work at Goddard, please speak to your supervisor. Performing such work at home is potentially dangerous, and we will not risk your health and safety.

Peter M. Hughes
Chief Technologist

*For internal purposes only.

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