As expected, a group of space advocacy organizations announced today that they have joined forces in a loose alliance to promote the new space exploration initiative (read the coverage by SPACE.com and the AP.) The alliance was announced today in Washington at the National Press Club. They have assembled a wide range of participating organizations, ranging from rather mainstream industry associations to some rather, ah, strident advocacy organizations:
- Aerospace Industries Association
- Aerospace States Association
- American Astronautical Society
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
- California Space Authority
- Florida Space Authority
- The Mars Society
- National Coalition of Spaceport States
- National Space Society
- The Planetary Society
- ProSpace
- Space Access Society
- Space Frontier Foundation
Interestingly, I checked the web sites of a number of these groups as of late Friday and didn’t see any press releases or any other information about this alliance.
It’s good to see that space advocacy organizations are playing positive politics.
It’s up on the NSS web site now.
Kerry vs whole pro-space exploration community?
Since staffers of John Kerry have made clear that Kerry opposes the new manned space exploration initiative, how will the new alliance for space exploration turn Kerry around? Or is the best hope of the alliance a Bush victory in November?
John Kerry has got to be made aware that this is a matter beyond partisan politics. He has been spending a lot of time talking about job creation, but let us be honest with each other. The American work force has priced itself out of any hope of competing in world markets. Coupled with the greed that major American manufacturers have displayed in the engineering of their products, and you end up right where we are now; jobs vanishing overseas, factories shutting down, and retirement benefits evaporating.
The United States still has a chance to re-invent itself, by investing in space technology. We have the potential to be the first country to export products made in space. Convincing corporations that the profits to be made in space would not be difficult, as many of them have been champing at the bit to get a chance to have space on a space station where they can conduct proprietary research. Getting politicians to understand that space exploration is no longer just a scientific endeavor, but investing in a future where steel mills and chemical plants no longer threaten the environment, secure jobs are no longer a dream, and our children desire more out of life than to be professional sports stars is crucial to winning support for increased spending on space technology.
National Space Society
http://www.nss.org/news/releases/pr20040508.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 2004
Leading Space Groups Agree:
It’s Time For The Moon, Mars And Beyond
Other reference articles from Project Constellation web site
http://www.projectconstellation.us/news/
Bush v Kerry is pretty meaningless for the long term of America’s space future.
Even with the Bush plan, CEV won’t fly crew until 2014 and with elections in 2008 and 2012 there is plenty of opportunity to cange direction, for better or worse. That is why space advocates need to set aside traditional Democrat versus Republican partisanship.
I fully support increased NASA funding, which is at the heart of this advocacy alliance, as far as I can tell.
Now, how will this increased money is actually spent? That is a HUGE unaswered question.
$20 million of the increased NASA funding will be spent on the Centennial Challenges.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centennial_Challenges
Space Exploration Alliance Founded
The Mars Society has joined with twelve other space advocacy organizations to form a Space Exploration Alliance to secure passage of the first year’s funding required to launch NASA’s new exploration initiative which aims at sending human explorers to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
http://www.marssociety.org/news/2004/0508.asp
Despite no international intentions and words of this declaration, NSS France joins the Alliance for supporting the initiative. NSS France works everyday for making Europe a major space partners of USA. i’m convinced that ”regular” cooperation has not to be done for your initiative , but we share the same vision : a spacefaring civilization… !
check our website and Blog –
http://www.nssfrance.com
http://e4sweblog.canalblog.com
First of All, I agree with the SPACE EXPLORATION ALLIANCE in thier attempts to promote this space anitiative. However, no matter what this country does, it will surely be political. The Space Exploration Act of 2003 has 30 co-sponsors that are mostly democrats. So whether Kerry wants to support it or not, a number of democrats do. So it isn’t a question of support by either side, because both sides agree something needs to be done. The real questions are, how to go about it? How much is it going to cost? And the main question is, is it worth it? This is what will be debated.
I believe that it will be worth it. There needs to be a mutual partnership between the government, businesses, and citizens, all dependent on each other. To loose one of these supporting arms will be determental to the success of this adventure as a whole. The underlining question to this is, How will everyone gain some exceptable piece of the pie. “How can everyone benefit?” When we can finally answer this question for the public, then the future of space will be a place to be called “Humanities Playground.”