Posted: Fri, Jun 11, 2004, 10:36 AM ET (1436 GMT)
The President's Commission on Moon, Mars, and Beyond (also known as the Aldridge Commission) will recommend a sweeping series of organizational changes within NASA in its final report, Space News reported late Thursday. Space News, which obtained a summary of the final report in advance of its release on June 16, reported that the commission will recommend that NASA spin off several of its field centers as federally-funded research and development centers (FFRDC). JPL is an example of an existing FFRDC. The commission will also recommend that NASA and Congress establish three new organizations within the agency, including a technical advisory board, an independent cost estimation group, and a high-risk technology development organization. The report will also recommend that NASA rely primarily on the private sector to provide services to NASA, including access to Earth orbit.

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•  SPACE.com article