A resource for space advocates?

With election day almost upon us (and thank goodness for that), some people are still deciding who to vote for in their elections. And, for many readers of this blog (although only a small fraction of the overall electorate), Congressional candidates’ opinions about space policy are of interest. But where to find that information?

Last month the Coalition for Space Exploration quietly rolled out SpaceAdvocate.com. The site’s purpose is to “empower space exploration supporters to connect with others across the U.S. to advocate for the Vision for Space Exploration with our nations leaders.” The site is designed to provide information and support for those people who are, as the site’s name suggests, are space advocates. The centerpiece of the site is the Action Center, with information on voting records of officeholders, candidate profiles, and legislation.

The publicist who told me about the site last month said it was officially slated for debut “later this year”, although it was being shown to people at the coalition’s booth at the X Prize Cup over two weeks ago. The site, at least at the moment, is underwhelming. There’s little space-specific information about candidates and legislation: voting records show all legislation, rather that bills with some space content; candidate profiles appear taken directly from their web site, without highlighting their stances (if any) on NASA funding or related issues. Hopefully the Coalition will tweak the site before formally launching it to highlight space-specific information, but in the meantime it is better than nothing.