"Can you imagine a space world in which entry into the club requires passing American political scrutiny?", he asks.
SPACE.com talked with Douglass in his offices overlooking the U.S. Capitol.
SPACE.com: John, is U.S. space policy broken?
Douglass: No, I don't think it's broken but I don't think there's as much consensus between the executive branch and the Congress and industry as I would hope we could achieve with a little more work.
SPACE.com: Why is that happening?
Douglass: Why, it's because industry is transitioning quickly, is developing so quickly, and there are a lot of things going on to cause this to happen.
SPACE.com: Like what?
| What is the Aerospace Industries Association? |
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Douglass: You know, years ago most of our launches were military launches. Now, most of the launches are commercial launches. We have the basic issue in the Air Force and to a certain degree with NASA and that is the focus of our space infrastructure is moving from research to commerce. The more we get into commerce, the more we get into issues like export licensing and commercial practices, and all of those things come to bear on the issue.
SPACE.com: So why do so many analysts say that U.S. space policy is unfocused, adrift?
Douglass: Well, there's no clear vision of the security future of the country. I mean, who's the good guys and who's the bad guys? How do we deal with them? And there's the emerging nations, like China. I mean, there's a lot of things going on today [internationally] that are not well understood by the public.
SPACE.com: You mean our international partners in space?
Douglass: Former adversaries are our allies, we have some countries that, you know in the past, that have sponsored terrorism that now seem to be moving away from terrorism. All of these changes are going so fast that one area of space policy needs to be continually reviewed with all of these changes in mind.
SPACE.com: Have we neglected space for the past few years?
Douglass: I don't think it's been neglected, but I would just say that change has been so rapid and the political atmosphere is so highly partisan, it's been hard to get agreement on what programs should be pursued.
SPACE.com: NASA's International Space Station program has suffered repeated delays due to problems with the Russian partnership. How do you view this program, and how might the next president treat the station in the overall context of a new space policy?
Douglass: Well, I sure don't think it's been our fault. We can't blame our people here. NASA has done a pretty darn good job in trying to keep pace with all this stuff. I do believe that some considerable vision and patience are going to be needed [by the next administration] to see this thing through. Few people would challenge the notion that a country that has the technology and economic potential that Russia has should not be shunted aside or ignored just because it's having trouble.
There's much larger issues at stake here than how well they are able to do in this first part of the station program.
SPACE.com: Such as?
Douglass: Well, there's a long-term role as the creation of a space society. Sooner or later we're gonna have to bring the Chinese into this, and others, too. Can you imagine a space world in which entry into the "club" requires passing American political scrutiny? That isn't going to happen.
In the long run, if we had a lot of space stations around the world, if you needed to go to different locations in space, you'll need different partners there.
SPACE.com: Like China?
Douglass: Not today maybe, but these are the kind of things you have to be prepared to think through as the use of space grows.
SPACE.com: AIA is calling for more space research spending?
Douglass: We're calling for substantial increases in the next administration -- yes. I am encouraged by the increases we saw in the NASA budget. But discouraged in the cuts to the defense budget [for space research].
SPACE.com: What about military space?
Douglass: I can tell you that the Pentagon wants more space stuff. More programs. More reconnaissance. Real-time situation awareness. But what they'll argue about is who will pay for it. I think that there will be increased investment in space. But the services all want the Air Force to pay for it. Space is a non-traditional thing for the military.
SPACE.com: Well, is it fair to stick the Air Force with that bill?
Douglass: Probably not. But how do you fund these kinds of things? That's why we need a presidential commission to sort this out.
SPACE.com: Who do you want on that commission?
Douglass: Military people, NASA people, academics, labor, experts and so on. There are a lot of views on space, and they will all need to be taken into account.
SPACE.com: What is your view of the recent White House review of spaceports and space ranges?
Douglass: Obviously new spaceports for commercial use are developing as we speak. What we are seeing is an evolution away from the existing launch pads. So the study was helpful as a first step.
SPACE.com: Will the next president take all of these studies and your commission and come up with a new space agenda?
Douglass: If we have people with vision and leadership. Otherwise change will come in a crisis way.
SPACE.com: What is the driver for this change?
Douglass: If [in] 10-15 years, there's hundreds of launches, mostly commercial, well it won't go in the present system. We've got to help the government see how to change. Not to be harsh about it.
SPACE.com: And how will AIA help that new administration?
Douglass: With a blueprint that the president can use to make his new plan. A document that lays out how to do space. For the country.
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