Space Politics
Because sometimes the most important orbit is the Beltway…
Archive for August, 2004
August 31, 2004 at 11:40 am · Filed under Campaign '04
There’s been some discussion about the Republican party’s platform which includes some discussion of space policy:
In addition, the Republican Party will remain committed to America’s leadership in space research and exploration. We will ensure that this Nation can expand our knowledge of the universe, and with the support of the American people, continue the exploration of Mars and the rest of the solar system. We consider space travel and space science a national priority with virtually unlimited benefits, in areas ranging from medicine to micro-machinery, for those on earth. Development of space will give us a growing economic resource and a source of new scientific discoveries.
There’s a problem, though: this is from the 2000 platform, not the 2004, as you can see here on C-SPAN. The 2004 platform has not been released yet, to the best of my knowledge, so we will have to see what’s changed between 2000 and 2004.
August 31, 2004 at 11:21 am · Filed under Other
While I appreciate a spirited debate on space policy topics as much as anyone, the exchange of comments in a few recent posts has taken on a more negative tone among several participants. Please, folks, discuss and debate the topics, not level attacks on one another. Let’s at least act like adults…
August 30, 2004 at 11:44 pm · Filed under Other
Virtually all the public comments made by space advocacy groups after the release of the Aldridge Commission’s final report were overwhelming positive. However, as I note in an article in The Space Review, the Mars Society and its leader, Robert Zubrin, are actually quite negative about the report. The article goes into the details of Zubrin’s opposition to the report, as well as his claim that the report has been “instantly forgotten”. That assessment may be premature—it’s been only two and a half months since the report’s release, and progress implementing the report’s recommendations was bound to be slow, particularly this time of year—but it does raise the question of just how effective the report will be in the long run.
August 29, 2004 at 3:29 pm · Filed under Campaign '04
The phrase “Space Jam” usually brings up memories of a rather silly movie where Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and other basketball stars demonstrated their limited acting abilities, even when augmented by the presence of various cartoon characters. However, the AP reports, the name is also being used for a reception Tuesday night at Studio 450, a few blocks from the convention site. The guest of honor at the $50,000 reception, sponsored by the Coalition for Space Exploration and its member corporations, is House Majority Leader Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX). The coalition organized a similar reception at the DNC in Boston, although apparently without the “Space Jam” appellation.
Correction 9/3: Although Mr. Banke’s comment below makes it clear that the Coalition did not formally sponsor the reception, he has asked me to formally correct that statement in the original post. This message serves as that correction. I can understand, though, why many people, myself included, were confused because the party was sponsored by many of the coalition’s key corporate members, and that coalition material was apparently distributed at the event.
August 29, 2004 at 12:02 pm · Filed under Congress
The Republican National Conventional starts tomorrow in New York, which means it’s the perfect time to… think about the 2006 elections? Apparently that’s the case for the AP, which has this article about Adam Brecht, a Wall Street PR executive who is thinking about runnning for the Senate in New York state in 2006 against incumbent Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Brecht has some interesting thoughts about NASA:
While pressing traditional Republican themes such as making permanent President Bush’s tax cuts, Brecht also wants a federal commitment to curing cancer and Aids by 2050 and funding the effort, in part, by getting rid of NASA and leaving space exploration to the private sector.
NASA supporters should note that Brecht right now has virtually no name recognition among Republicans in the Empire State. However, 2006 is a long way off…
August 26, 2004 at 12:33 pm · Filed under Congress
An article in Wednesday’s edition of the Alamogordo (NM) Daily News paints US Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) as a supporter of space tourism. “I think you’ll find a lot of people lining up” to participate in suborbital space tourist flights, he was quoted as saying during a visit to Alamogordo earlier in the week. He apparently also showed some interest in lining up federal funding to pay for the development of a commercial spaceport in southern New Mexico, which will eventually host the X Prize Cup competitions:
Eventually a spaceport will be built with the landing pad in Sierra County, [state Economic Development Department executive director Peter] Mitchell told Bingaman, but to do that federal funds are critical. The runway cost alone is $86 million, with another $10 million needed for infrastructure and telemetry technology.
“Is this an avenue you can support?” [space commissioner Dwight] Harp asked Bingaman.
“As far as the money, we can explore it,” said Bingaman, immediately directing his staff to begin investigating possibilities.
August 25, 2004 at 12:39 pm · Filed under Other
The Washington Post published an article Wednesday about the problems the US may face down the road with the ISS. Russia currently provides Soyuz spacecraft to the ISS through an agreement that will expire after the October 2005 Soyuz taxi mission. After that, the US will have to pay Russia for additional Soyuz flights. That, however, would be in contravention of the Iran Nonproliferation Act, which prevents NASA from purchasing anything from Russia for the ISS unless the administration certifies that Russia is not assisting Iran with the development of weapons of mass destruction. With no such certification in sight, the US may soon be in a sticky situation with the ISS. There doesn’t appear to be any easy way out in the foreseeable future:
[A senior administration] official, who declined to be identified by name because of Bush administration policy, did not rule out eventual certification of Russian compliance, but said the administration has no immediate plans to take that step. The official also saw no way to use the “imminent” danger exemption as long as a Soyuz craft lifeboat is at the station.
Also off the table is the possibility of buying Soyuz spacecraft through intermediaries or negotiating a new barter agreement. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Steven Pifer told Congress last year that such tactics “would likely be viewed by many as an evasion of the law.”
There’s not that much in the article that is new, but it is a good summary of the overall situation.
August 24, 2004 at 11:06 pm · Filed under Other
In this week’s issue of The Space Review, Taylor Dinerman discusses the potential for cooperation between the US and China on space issues. Such cooperation might seem a bit far-fetched, given the past history between the two nations, including the “Chinagate” episode of tech transfer back during the 1990s, there are potential arenas of cooperation between the two nations, notably remote sensing. Dinerman suggests that Japan might serve as an intermediary in any cooperative efforts, although relations between China and Japan also have a rocky history. Moreover, no one, particularly in the US government, seems to be in much of a hurry to get such an effort started.
August 23, 2004 at 12:48 pm · Filed under Campaign '04
In his closing plenary at the Mars Society’s annual conference in Chicago on Sunday, Robert Zubrin said that he believes that a Kerry Administration would support human exploration of the Moon and Mars. Zubrin said that he has spoken with Kerry’s “space staff” (it was unclear whether he meant Senate or campaign staffers, although I was left with the impression of the former) and that they “are not averse to the idea” of sending humans to the Moon and Mars. “It will take on a different formulation” than the current Vision for Space Exploration, Zubrin said, “but it will be just as good as what we have now.” What space advocates have to be aware of, though, he cautioned, is that if Kerry wins, he will be surrounded by a new retinue of advisors who may have different space policy ideas; thus, advocates should continue to be vigilant and press the Kerry campaign to promote human exploration beyond Earth orbit.
August 19, 2004 at 9:19 am · Filed under White House
The Washington Space Business Roundtable plans to kick off its 2004-2005 luncheon series on September 21 with a talk by David Radzanowski, the head of the Science and Space Programs branch of the Office of Management and Budget. Radzanowski’s talk is titled “Space Funding: Will Congress Support the New Space Exporation Vision?” It should prove interesting…
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