I ended this morning’s interview with David Livingston with a little teaser — that I’d heard from someone fairly credible yesterday that Charlie Bolden was a short timer. I didn’t state it as a fact, but merely as an unsubstantiated, but not incredible rumor. I checked with someone fairly high at NASA HQ today, and they know nothing about it. For what this is all worth.

But if there is some news on this front in the coming days/weeks, you probably heard it here first. Which is also the case, of course, if nothing happens at all.

Henry Vanderbilt, over at the Space Access Society, wants you to call your Congressperson:

– Call your Representative via the House Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. (If you don’t already know their name, grab an old bill and look them up by your 9-digit zipcode at http://www.house.gov/zip/ZIP2Rep.html.)

– Tell whoever answers the phone that you’d like to speak to the person who handles NASA issues for the Congressman/woman. (Ask for their voicemail if they’re not available.)

– Politely ask that staffer to: Ask your Representative to tell Chairman Wolf that he/she opposes earmarking billions to sole-source the NASA “Space Launch System”. Tell the staffer that you want to see a real competition to determine what heavy-lift booster NASA actually needs and who can build it most affordably. (If he wants to talk more about this, do your best to answer his questions.) Thank him for his time, and ring off.

For the background, follow the link.

A depressing cartoon.

[Via Bruce Webster]