Republican Party’s (old) platform on space

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 […]

Administrivia: a request for comment civility

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…

Debating Aldridge

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 […]

Space Jam at the RNC

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, […]

Thinking about 2006

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 […]

Senator Bingaman and space tourism

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 […]

Between Iran and a hard policy

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, […]

US-China space cooperation

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 […]

Zubrin, Kerry, and space exploration

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 […]

WSBR luncheon with OMB official

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 […]