Comments on: NASA Security Badges are a Health and Safety Risk

By: Peter

Peter — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:27:01 +0000

So uhh… instead of replacing or improving the 'dangerous' badges they just get a warning and business as usual? That seems very un-NASA.

By: Tyler Durden

Tyler Durden — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:26:59 +0000

The moral of the story : sometimes low-tech is better.

Have a badge that can only be read when directly inserted into the device.

Have security guards who know the employees by name, and will stop someone they don't know.

Have people watching so that someone with no badge pinned on, or who are standing at a door fiddling with the panel instead of going through it (or sliding the card and failing to succeed) – will be intercepted.

Newer doesn't always mean better.

By: Chuck Lam

Chuck Lam — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:58:13 +0000

Clerical design flaw! Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12! New style badge! Protection against reading from afar! To show the badge when the wearer wants to! Are these guys nuts? If this foggy thinking is typical of what is coming out of Washington; it is no wonder our nation is is in deep trouble. Gawd! Do we need change! Is this a political statement? Nope! Just an observation.

By: Joseph

Joseph — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:44:53 +0000

ID badges are fun… UNTIL SOMEONE LOSES AN EYE!

By: NoAstronomer

NoAstronomer — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:42:11 +0000

As Ross points out FOD is a long-standing acronym in the aerospace industry.

While the possibility of eye injury sounds somewhat overblown FOD is a serious problem. Even a tiny clip in the wrong place on a aircraft, or a space shuttle, could cause disaster.

By: David R.

David R. — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:02:15 +0000

@Ian

random thoughts:

-Is the badge a test technique failure or a design failure?

-I guess this means that protocol must be written that would encourage trained professional scientists and other employees not to play with things at work.

-There's potentially some good follow up material for future articles on UT: the relationship between science and culture (terrorism threats, ideological clashes, religion, and so on)…the ID badge issue sounds a bit silly but I think there's some commentary here on where we are in terms of national science programs/space programs and their interplay with cultural/political/religious issues.

By: Vagueofgodalming

Vagueofgodalming — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:23:07 +0000

I'm surprised at Universe Today falling for wimpy Dhimmicrat anti-Bush propaganda. This is a security feature: NASA is clearly a target for terrorism. If a NASA employee sees a suspicious bearded person with a briefcase with a flashing red light on it, all he has to do is unobtrusively touch his badge and… poinnnnng! another victory for FreedomTM.

By: Ian O'Neill

Ian O'Neill — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:26:11 +0000

Thanks Ross Page! I've corrected that little mistake

By: RL

RL — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:35:57 +0000

I'll bet the badges are dangerous if you throw them like Ninja throwing stars, too!

A different kind of story. I like it.

"And now…something completely different…."

By: baird

baird — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:08:01 +0000

Either read the article or not. FYI I don't care to know if you liked it or not.

I for one think that the bathroom cleaning schedule is important information. There is no need to get all pissy;)

By: Ross Page

Ross Page — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:05:43 +0000

FOD is an aerospace term which actually means " FORIEGN OBJECT DAMAGE"

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:58:54 +0000

"…technically known as Flying Object Damage (FOD)."

I love how NASA folks need to make yet another acronym.

By: joe

joe — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:53:04 +0000

Must be a slow news day. FYI I don't care about nasa's bathroom cleaning schedule either.