MAIN ARTICLE: Lunar Astronaut Buzz Aldrin - To Pres. Obama.
Ex moon walker, Buzz Aldrin offers a new paper on space policy for the Obama Administration. First there was the AIA paper, the MIT paper, the Abbott paper and now another hat gets tossed into the ring.
Poll Results: Low turnout for yesterday's poll scroll down for the latest, click subscribe for more space news.
Star Trek: In the News. Family Guy beams in Star Trek: Next Generation crew.
Yesterday's Comments: "Where is everyone today, anyway?" - Casual Wednesday
Today's Poll: Should America create a new Department of Space (DOS)
Buzz Aldrin, the second American to walk on the moon, published a new policy paper on the National Space Society Blog entitled: Sustainable Space Exploration and Space Development
The manuscript is divided into these seven sections.
A Unified Strategic Vision
- Introduction
- The Need of a New Vision for Transforming America into a Spacefaring Nation
- A Unified Vision for Concurrent Space Exploration and Space Development
- Space Development vs. Space Exploration—What NASA Can or Cannot Deliver
- A Critical Path for Achieving the Unified Space Vision (USV)
- Propel Humanity’s Outward Expansion into Space-based Economic Frontiers
- A New Space Economy with a Transformed Global Collaborative Paradigm
Although I like a lot of what I read, there were some troubling ideas. The biggest one that jumped out at me was a call for a new cabinet level department of the Federal Government called the Dept of Space or DOS. The purpose of this is to drive the commercial space development half of the new "Unified Strategic Vision". NASA would continue with the exploration half of American Space policy.
I do not see how creating a new government bureaucracy, with the sole purpose of teaching businesses how to create more space infrastructure, will help. A reoccuring tale told by many in the space industry is government, in most cases, makes doing business in space a paper and regulatory nightmare. One more layer is not the answer, in my opinion. Use the billions that would go to fund that new Department to instead fund COTS-D.
"NASA by its very existence, like many U.S. national research laboratories, is supposed to be a logical R&D organization that should mainly dedicate itself to exploration, planetary research, scientific discovery and technology development programs. Likewise, the proposed cabinet-level U.S. Department of Space (DOS), as discussed earlier, should manage and take charge of the government functions of supporting and incubating space-based industrial capability and transportation infrastructure development. Unlike NASA, the key role of the DOS should be to support and foster strong government-business partnerships (much like the current NASA COTS program, but at orders of magnitude increased scale) with space industry and the private sector to promote space infrastructure development. This directly benefits the national and world economy and brings investment returns to taxpayers, not just by creating more high-tech jobs, but also supporting NASA on more ambitious space exploration programs."
Under the Department of Commerce there is the Office of Space Commercialization. Some elements Aldrin mentions can be handled by this already existing agency. There is also already existing space transportation policy:
U.S. SPACE TRANSPORTATION POLICY (PDF - Fact Sheet, 8 pages)
Goal and Objectives
"The fundamental goal of this policy is to ensure the capability to access and use space in support of national and homeland security, civil, scientific, and economic interests. To achieve this goal, the United States Government shall:
- Ensure the availability of U.S. space transportation capabilities necessary to provide reliable and affordable space access, including access to, transport through, and return from space;
- Demonstrate an initial capability for operationally responsive access to and use of space -- providing capacity to respond to unexpected loss or degradation of selected capabilities, and/or to provide timely availability of tailored or new capabilities -- to support national security requirements;
- Develop space transportation capabilities to enable human space exploration beyond low Earth orbit, consistent with the direction contained in U.S. Space Exploration Policy, dated January 14, 2004;
- Sustain a focused technology development program for next-generation space transportation capabilities that dramatically improves the reliability, responsiveness, and cost of access to, transport through, and return from space, and enables a decision to acquire these capabilities in the future;
- Encourage and facilitate the U.S. commercial space transportation industry to enhance the achievement of national security and civil space transportation objectives, benefit the U.S. economy, and increase the industry’s international competitiveness;
- Sustain and promote a domestic space transportation industrial base, including launch systems, infrastructure, and workforce, necessary to meet ongoing United States Government national security and civil requirements.
Implementation of this policy shall be within the overall policy and resource guidance of the President, the availability of appropriations, and applicable law and regulations."
--end quote--
So the National policy for expanding America's commercial space infrastructure is already in place. President Bush laid it out and then laid back and didn't push it, didn't fund it, and just used it for a photo op rather then to advance America's space economy.
Buzz Aldrin also had a lot of negative comments about what NASA has become since it's glory days of Apollo:
"The inability of NASA to efficiently handle space exploration programs aimed at peaceful discoveries is precisely because during the "peace-time" environment, all the needed budgetary and political support to sustain the operations of the ten-plus NASA centers and organizations was largely diminished, and replaced with the complex issues of fierce competing battles to survive (fund) within NASA organizations. Given such organizational deficiencies of NASA hierarchies as it was created, it simply became a organization severely incapable of planning or doing anything with strategic vision or value. The post-Apollo NASA, as it has been for the past 40 years, simply became a visionless jobs-providing enterprise that achieves little or nothing in space infrastructure development, especially in the effort for reusable or affordable launch-systems development."
Many of the problems with NASA he outlines I do agree with, some other comments I believe falls onto the shoulders of leadership. A President can lead with space, or ignore it until there is an accident and then have to play defense and respond.
Aldrin also points out the constant starts and stops, fund and defund program after program over the last 40 years and 8 Presidents. He then goes on to outline programs that have currently been started and are not even operational yet but should be cut and his new ones started. I believe that falls under more of the same.
After listening to President Obama last night I saw signs of hope:
President Obama, speech to the joint session of Congress
"History reminds us that at every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas. In the midst of civil war, we laid railroad tracks from one coast to another that spurred commerce and industry. From the turmoil of the Industrial Revolution came a system of public high schools that prepared our citizens for a new age. In the wake of war and depression, the GI Bill sent a generation to college and created the largest middle-class in history. And a twilight struggle for freedom led to a nation of highways, an American on the moon, and an explosion of technology that still shapes our world.
In each case, government didn’t supplant private enterprise; it catalyzed private enterprise. It created the conditions for thousands of entrepreneurs and new businesses to adapt and to thrive."
It is my wish that President Obama approaches America's space policy the same way, boldly. The tools are in place, he just has to use political capital to advance them.
PAGE 2:
Bill White published the results of the recent blitz on Capital hill:
NASA and Congress
"Working in teams of three or four, ten teams visited about 130 offices of members of the House and Senate. For the most part we met with staff such as Legislative Assistants or the occasional Legislative Director but we also had a handful of face-to-face meetings with actual Representatives and Senators.
Staff level knowledge and interest varied between offices and the level of genuine exchange (give and take) also varied between offices however I definitely learned a great deal by doing this event. One reason I love doing these events is the opportunity to learn not only the sense of Congress regarding space exploration and NASA (from meetings attended with my team and from other participants) but also fascinating tidbits about the larger process itself."
POLL RESULTS:
Yesterday's poll: "Should NASA build another OCO satellite?" had a dismal turnout as everyone was looking foreward to President Obama's joint speech to Congress and the Nation. 46% wanted a clean sheet design and upgrade it with the lastest technology while 38% wanted to Fast Trac a new one of the same design.
STAR TREK: In the News.
Family Guy beams in Star Trek: Next Generation crew
"The cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation is beaming into Family Guy for a reunion, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The Next Generation crew, including Patrick Stewart, Levar Burton, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, Wil Wheaton, Denise Crosby, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes, will lend their voices to the animated sitcom.
In an episode titled "Not All Dogs Go To Heaven," Family Guy character Stewie builds a transporter and beams the entire cast into his bedroom so they can spend a day in Quahog, the fictional town where the series is set."
YESTERDAY'S COMMENTS:
A 'Tip of the Hat' to Casual Wednesday for a great post with the links for congressional committees related to space issues.
"Sharing some legislative contact info
The real movers on space policy are the Senate Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics, and Related Sciences and the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics.
Bill Nelson of Florida (a former astronaut) is the chair of the Senate subcommittee and Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona is the chair of the House subcommittee.
These are the people to contact about space policy.
To lobby for more NASA money, contact the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.
Senator Barb Mikulski of Maryland and Rep. Alan Mollohan of West Virginia are the respective chairs."
"The failure of OCO is a significant loss. Cimate change demands action as well as study but good decision making requires good data flow. Even with launch inssurance it will be years before another OCO can become operational. I'm torn betweena fast track that would restore that data flow quickly and taking the opportunity to get an even better piece of equipment in the air. I voted for an upgrade assuming it's going to take years either way. An unreliable launch vehicle does us no good either. I know I'd think twice before putting my investment on a Taurus XL." - Subo03
TODAY'S POLL:
Read other NASA and Space diaries on DKOS.