Brian Chase, executive director of the National Space Society, applauded the news that Bush will propose a bold new vision for NASA that includes a return to the moon and an eventual trip to Mars. Chase predicted the presidents proposal would be well received both on Capital Hill and by the general public. "I think in general this will be well received on Capital Hill. Thats not to say there wont be individual concerns and a lot of give and take in terms of how this thing is shaped."
House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) said in a statement that he is "eager to hear the President's vision for a revived human space flight program" and looks forward to getting the details next week.."I applaud the President for focusing on this issue at a critical time in the history of the American space program."
Boehlert said he is convinced the United States needs a new vision for human space flight, but cautioned that budget issues will be of paramount concern to members of his committee and the entire Congress. "I look forward to serious discussion about what the precise nature of that program should be, and I know there are a wide variety of opinions on our Committee and in the Congress about that. Any decisions on the future of manned space flight must be made in the context of budget realities, the continuing need for the reforms called for by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, and the need to keep NASA's unmanned space programs at the robust and productive level that has borne such remarkable fruits just this past week."
Welcome announcement
White House spokesman Allen Abney said Friday that Bush will make a space policy announcement Jan. 14 in Washington. Details about the venue for the announcement should be available early next week, he said. Abney would not say what that space policy announcement would entail. He would also not confirm reports that Bush signed a new space policy directive in December.
Rep. Bart Gordon, (D-Tenn.), who is expected to be the ranking minority member of the House Science Committee this year, said Bushs announcement next week will be both visionary and achievable. "Regardless will be welcome direction for a program that has drifted in the decades since Apollo last visited the Moon."
Gordon noted that only 58 years after the Wright brothers' flight, humans traveled into space. "Only eight years after those initial flights, two Americans landed on the surface of the Moon and left the first human footprints on another world. While there have been exciting and important accomplishments in robotic space exploration over the last three decades, the nation's human space flight program has drifted, with no consensus on its goals. The president has both the opportunity and the responsibility to provide leadership in this area."
"America should go back to the Moon within a decade -- this time with the goal of establishing research facilities on its surface similar to those that exist at Antarctica." Gordon said in a statement.
"The president needs to provide leadership to place an ambitious human space-exploration agenda on the table, and Congress needs to be prepared to do its part," Gordon said. "But I do not want to minimize the difficulty of doing what I am proposing. An ambitious presidential space agenda must represent a durable commitment, not simply one more re-election sound bite, or both Congress and the American public will dismiss it out of hand. Most importantly, an increased focus on space exploration should not be a substitute for attention to other pressing national needs or a diversion from meeting our commitments to our poor, our elderly and our veteransWe currently invest only a little more than one-tenth of one percent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product on NASA. We can afford to increase that share by a modest amount to provide the basis for an exciting and productive future of exploration. I hope the president will propose doing just that."
Several web sites and news agencies reported that Bush will request an $800 million increase in NASAs 2005 budget request and five percent annual budget increases for the next five years to achieve his goals.
Additional funding would come from reprioritizing projects within NASA's human space flight accounts. If a project doesnt support the goal of returning to the moon, it will likely find itself re-purposed, Chase said. Chase thinks the budget cuts will be limited to human space flight. "My guess is that there arent going to be a lot of cuts in other areas. Everything Ive heard indicates that any program in the agency related to the human space flight arena that does not focus very specifically on this new mission will be re-tasked."
Shift in research
Chase also predicted that a big shift in the type of research that is conducted on the International Space Station (ISS) is likely. Chase said he is also given to understand that NASA plans to create a new organization, dubbed Code P, to oversee both the new moon effort and things like Project Prometheus, a program developing nuclear spacecraft propulsion and power systems that are needed for interplanetary travel for places like Mars, and the development of a shuttle replacement known as the Orbital Space Plane.
The Orbital Space Plane, incidentally, could be in for a name change to reflect its future beyond Low Earth Orbit, Chase said. He said look for NASA to rename it the Crew Exploration Vehicle. He said it is also a sure bet that it will be a capsule, not a winged vehicle. "Every indication is its going to be a capsule type design, which is what the contractors have been leaning toward in last couple months," he said.
"In any case youve got some politically sticky wickets to run through, Chase said. "It is controversial to use Russian vehicles and it is politically touchy to launch U.S. missions outside of the United States.
The proposal should also be well received in states like California, Texas, and Florida -- states with big stakes in human space flight. All three states are also political plums for anyone running for president, Chase said.
Mar Society President Bob Zubrin urged his member ship in an e-mail to lobby hard for a strong for Mars to be a major part of NASAs program.
Noting that multiple press sources are reporting that President Bush will announce a major space initiative next week, with the goal of returning humans to the Moon in the next decade and proceeding to Mars by 2020, Zubrin wrote: "If this is the case it represents a great victory for the Mars Society Now, however, is not the time to let up the pressure."
He encouraged Mars Socirty members "to write, call, or email the president now. Writing letters and op-eds in newspapers, calling in to radio shows, and contacting congressmen are also important activities."
New Opportunities
Some reports suggested that the changes planned for NASA would open the door to new opportunities for commercial launch companies instead of the space shuttle to get people and supplies to and from the ISS -- particularly the Ariane launch consortium, which plans to operate both its Ariane 5 and Russian-built Soyuz rocket from Europes launch facility in French Guiana.
"We view our role in terms of station supply with [Europes planned Automated Transfer Vechicle] as an important one and we would be able to expand that if it is needed to increase supply to station should the shuttle be retired at an earlier date," said Clayton Mowry, president of Arianespace Inc., the U.S. marketing arm of the European launcher company.
Mowry said he had not been briefed by the White House or NASA on the upcoming presidential announcement.
Mowry said Arianespace is working to get the "funding sewn up" for making the necessary changes to launch Russian Soyuz rockets out of Kourou, French Guiana.
One source said there also is discussion at NASA of reviving efforts to build a heavy lift launcher based on the shuttle. That launcher would be needed not for the space station, but for missions the moon and eventually Mars.
Mowry also said he would be paying close attention to any announcement Bush makes next week. "Were anxious to see more details of what the administrations plan is next week and whether or not there is a role for Arianespace and Europe," Mowry said there is a small amount of money in the plan to make sure that the infrastructure and the pads there could be modified down the road to support human launches.
Lori Garver, a former NASA associate administrator of policy and plans during the Clinton administration and now a vice president of the consulting firm DFI International praised the White House for coming up with a new vision for NASA. "Im Absolutely thrilled," said Garver, also a former director of the National Space Society. "This is exactly what the space program needs."
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