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Speak Out
What should be the priority of U.S. space policy?
By James Horner, student
This year marks the end of the U.S. space shuttle program, and crafting a vision for American space exploration has been the subject of debate in Washington. At issue are the priorities in NASA’s funding. Members of Congress have criticized the Obama administration’s 2012 budget request for NASA because they say it favors the commercial space industry over the construction of NASA’s next generation of manned spacecraft.
Last year, Obama canceled NASA’s Constellation program, which aimed to build rockets and a capsule for astronauts to return to the moon. Noting that Constellation was too costly, “behind schedule, and lacking in innovation,” the president proposed that NASA instead develop a next-generation heavy-lift rocket with a goal of sending astronauts to an asteroid by 2025, followed by a manned mission to Mars in the 2030s.
His plan also called for funding of commercial spacecraft to take over the shuttle’s role of transporting astronauts to low-Earth orbit and to the International Space Station. Until such vehicles are available, the United States will rely on Russia to carry astronauts to the space station. The station is expected to operate for nine more years, and the administration views commercial transporters to be the best, most cost-effective option.
Promoting privatization of spacecraft development has drawn criticism from some lawmakers and former astronauts Neil Armstrong and Jim Lovell, who question whether commercially built vehicles will be as safe as those owned and operated by NASA. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden points to the successes of companies like SpaceX, which recently became the first to launch a commercial spacecraft into Earth’s orbit and return it to Earth. “We have got to develop commercial capability to get into low-Earth orbit. The nation needs to become unafraid of exploration,” Bolden told the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. “We need to become unafraid of risks.”
Last year, Congress worked out a compromise by directing some funding to commercial space development while providing greater funding for moving up the administration’s timetable for manned space missions. The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 scaled back the administration’s commercial space transportation proposal and gave priority to NASA’s development of its own new technology, specifically a heavy-lift rocket and capsule to send astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit by the middle of this decade.
However, the administration’s $18.7 billion proposed NASA budget for 2012 increases money for commercial crew systems by 70 percent over what the law approved, while decreasing funding for NASA’s new-generation craft by 31 percent from the law’s mandate. “I am concerned that the future of our space program is in serious jeopardy,” said Rep. Ralph Hall, chairman of the House science committee. “The new budget proposal disregards – yes, ignores – our authorization law,” he added.
Doug Cooke, NASA’s associate administrator for space exploration, told the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee that NASA “is trying to get test flights as early as 2016” on heavy-lift rocket, but he added that the president’s proposal to increase spending for commercial development reflects administration goals. “This is a matter of balance and priorities and it’s a NASA priority to develop commercial crew transportation to and from Earth orbit,” Cooke said. NASA’s Bolden has said that a heavy-lift vehicle is not necessary until the next decade. Some members of Congress and space industry officials worry that a pullback from plans for manned missions and a seeming lack of direction for NASA will cause the United States to lose its leadership position in space exploration.
What do you think?
What direction should U.S. space policy take? Should it emphasize promoting a commercial space industry? Should it instead focus on moving quickly ahead with NASA’s development its own craft for deeper space human exploration? Do you think the United States is in jeopardy of losing its leadership position in space exploration? How much of a priority do you think space exploration should be in the federal budget? Join the discussion!
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