. 24/7 Space News .
SPACE TRAVEL
Liftoff for Trump's bold space plans may have to wait
By Kerry SHERIDAN
Cape Canaveral (AFP) July 9, 2017


The White House has championed a new era of US leadership in space, but its aspirations are complicated by tight budgets, vacancies in top posts and the rising role of private industry in aerospace innovation, experts say.

During a speech Thursday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Vice President Mike Pence delighted hundreds of space agency employees and contractors by pledging that "under President Trump, we will achieve more in space than we ever thought possible."

Pence promised a "return to the Moon," as well as "American boots on the face of Mars" and a "constant presence in low-Earth orbit."

But as the flag-waving enthusiasm faded, some were left wondering what exactly Pence meant.

"'Moon' could mean anything -- commercial, robotic, international or otherwise," said Phil Larson, a White House space adviser under president Barack Obama and formerly an official with privately owned SpaceX.

Larson described a series of recent space-themed orations by Pence as "no cake, just icing."

John Logsdon, former head of the George Washington University Space Policy Institute, agreed.

"I think (Thursday's) speech was, of course, short on substance because there is no substance," Logsdon said.

- No one in top slots -

Some are skeptical of the White House's soaring rhetoric because crucial leadership positions remain unfilled.

For instance, the US space agency set a dubious record on the Fourth of July: the longest span of time that a newly elected president has gone without naming a new NASA chief.

The previous record was a 164-day stretch in 1971 under President Richard Nixon.

NASA is currently headed by an "acting administrator" -- engineer Robert Lightfoot, who took over when former astronaut Charles Bolden, an Obama appointee, stepped down.

Also empty is the chief of the White House's Office of Science and Technology and Policy, once a key player in crafting NASA's agenda.

- Revived space council -

It is common for incoming presidents to review their predecessor's space plans and issue a course correction early on.

Although Trump may be late in the process, "he has now created a mechanism for taking a look at the current program," Logsdon explained.

That mechanism is the revival of the National Space Council -- announced last month -- accompanied by an external advisory group of industry experts.

Pence, a long-time space enthusiast, is heading the National Space Council, now in its third iteration after last shutting down in 1993.

The council aims to guide space policy by including the secretaries of state, defense, commerce, transportation and homeland security, along with intelligence and military leaders and the NASA chief.

The council will hold its first meeting before summer is out, Pence said.

- Follow the money -

After that, the dollars allocated to NASA -- and the projects they fund -- will tell much of the story.

"Any big changes are likely to come next year," Logsdon said.

Trump's proposed budget for NASA -- which has yet to be hammered out by lawmakers -- called for $19.1 billion in spending, a 0.8 percent cut from the previous year.

The proposal canceled plans to drag a small asteroid into orbit around the Moon, where astronauts could study it at length. It also erased several Earth science missions and axed a NASA education office -- but it laid out no new visions.

The next budget for NASA is to be unveiled in February 2018.

"Everybodyis waiting, everybody is impatient in the space community," said Logsdon.

- How big a private role? -

On one side are champions of the old way of doing business, whereby NASA oversaw the building of rockets and spaceships, paid for by lucrative US government contracts.

A modern-day example is aerospace giant Lockheed Martin being paid billions by the US government to construct NASA's Orion deep-space capsule, which may one day carry humans to Mars.

On the other side is the burgeoning private space industry, with players like SpaceX and Boeing building the next generation of spaceships to ferry astronauts to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station.

Already, SpaceX and another private company, Orbital ATK, have received billion-dollar-plus NASA contracts to help build cargo ships to tote supplies to the orbiting outpost, but the companies took on a large share of the funding -- and the risk -- themselves.

It remains unclear which way of doing business in space will win out under Trump.

His call for the US to exit the Paris climate accord angered the CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk, who walked away from his advisory role to the president after the announcement earlier this year.

But analysts doubt that SpaceX -- or other top players -- would refuse a spot at the table when it comes to forging the future of US spaceflight.

Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an industry group, said he was "upbeat" about the new National Space Council.

"I think there is a great role that commercial industry will play in helping shape the national agenda moving forward."

SPACE TRAVEL
Trump offers bold space goals but fills in few details
Cape Canaveral (AFP) July 9, 2017
The White House has championed a new era of US leadership in space, but its aspirations are complicated by tight budgets, vacancies in top posts and the rising role of private industry in aerospace innovation, experts say. During a speech Thursday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Vice President Mike Pence delighted hundreds of space agency employees and contractors by pledging that "under Pre ... read more

Related Links
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

SPACE TRAVEL
Creating Trends in Space: An Interview with NanoRacks CEO Jeffrey Manber

Counting calories in space

Trump offers bold space goals but fills in few details

Liftoff for Trump's bold space plans may have to wait

SPACE TRAVEL
Hypersonic Travel Possibility Heats Up Massively After New Material Discovery

Aerojet Rocketdyne tests Advanced Electric Propulsion System

Russia to Carry Out Five Launches From Vostochny Space Center in 2018

Spiky ferrofluid thrusters can move satellites

SPACE TRAVEL
Curiosity Mars Rover Begins Study of Ridge Destination

Tributes to wetter times on Mars

Opportunity will spend three weeks at current location due to Solar Conjunction

Mars surface 'more uninhabitable' than thought: study

SPACE TRAVEL
China develops sea launches to boost space commerce

Chinese Rocket Fizzles Out, Puts Other Launches on Hold

Chinese satellite Zhongxing-9A enters preset orbit

Chinese Space Program: From Setback, to Manned Flights, to the Moon

SPACE TRAVEL
LISA Pathfinder: bake, rattle and roll

100M Pound boost for UK space sector

Iridium Poised to Make Global Maritime Distress and Safety System History

HTS Capacity Lease Revenues to Reach More Than $6 Billion by 2025

SPACE TRAVEL
Spacepath Communications Announces Innovative Frequency Converter Systems

WVU to develop software for future NASA Mars rovers, test 3-D printed foams on ISS

Giant enhancement of electromagnetic waves revealed within small dielectric particles

ANU invention may help to protect astronauts from radiation in space

SPACE TRAVEL
Evidence discovered for two distinct giant planet populations

Molecular Outflow Launched Beyond Disk Around Young Star

Hidden Stars May Make Planets Appear Smaller

More to Life Than the Habitable Zone

SPACE TRAVEL
NASA spacecraft to fly over Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Juno Completes Flyby over Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Juno spots Jupiter's Great Red Spot

New evidence in support of the Planet Nine hypothesis









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.