NASA Watch

NASA Watch is a website which provides insider information and commentary about the United States space program and NASA. NASA Watch was created in March 1996 and is maintained by space biologist-turned-journalist Keith Cowing.

Cowing is a staunch supporter of human spaceflight. He started the website when Daniel Goldin 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 to the International Space Station. 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, appointed by George W. Bush, and even obtained exclusive first-hand information about the genesis of the Vision for Space Exploration, 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 wrote negatively about a return to Goldin-style management practices. Cowing dubbed Monday, June 13, 2005 as Black Monday when many NASA personnel were sent reassignment letters.

The blog-like news postings on NASA Watch run the gamut from praise of NASA’s efforts to...
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