Obama clarifies his space policy

A White House document provides the details of the space plan of the United States’ President.

 

During a speech at the Kennedy Space Center on 15 April 2010, President Barack Obama attempted to lessen the negative reactions created by the stopping of the Constellation programme by announcing human space flights to an asteroid for 2025, and by designating Mars as a long-term objective. Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

At the beginning of 2010, the cancellation of the Constellation programme meant the sudden stopping of the return to the Moon initiated by George W. Bush, Barack Obama’s predecessor at the head of the American executive authority. Several elected representatives from Congress as well as some astronauts including Neil Armstrong, the first lunar walker, then opposed a policy that they deemed devastating for the future of the United States’ space programme.

Details, but no revolution
And yet, NASA’s budget put forward by the White House was increased and laid down long-term objectives. However, the opponents of this new strategy harshly criticised programmatic imprecision and the transfer to the private sector of the sending of astronauts into low orbit (that is to say predominantly to the International Space Station as things currently stand) even though no company has yet proved its capacities in this field. On 15 April, President Barack Obama attempted to calm the unrest during a much awaited speech at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. Nevertheless, the announcement of a human space flight to an asteroid for 2025, followed by a flight around Mars only gathered reactions from the critics that at best were mixed. With a new 14-page document made public on 28 June, the White House is obviously hoping to put a damper on the idea that Barack Obama “would break” the American space programme. It is true that the text highlights, often pompously, the importance of astronautics for the United States which is described in passing as being the “leading space-faring nation”. But the odds are that this “National Space Policy of the United States of America” will not satisfy those who do not accept the cancellation of the return to the Moon or the fact that their country is going to find itself without human space flight autonomy once the space shuttles are retired (American astronauts will be dependent on the Russians to reach the ISS).

The 14-page document: “National Space Policy of the United States of America”, clarifies the strategies announced by Barack Obama  (PDF file).

Commerce, international agreements and debris
There is no actual blatant adjustment of the strategies presented in February and in April by 2010 par Barack Obama. It is even possible to note additional constraints in the sense that the document not only clarifies the role of the government, but also those, for example, of NASA’s Administrator, the Secretaries of Energy, Commerce and Defence, and even the Director of National Intelligence. Obviously, the White House intends to take the initiative after the outcry against its space road map (including within its own political party) and to reiterate that it is in control and allocates the roles! The transfer of the current space operations to the private sector is also maintained. One paragraph does however state that if the commercial services are unable to meet the needs of the United States, then the public sector will take over, which in the end gives priority to the private sector. International agreements are encouraged, although no specific formal announcement is made. The human space flight to an asteroid remains planned for 2025, whereas the objective of Mars half way through the 2030’s is limited to sending astronauts to orbit the red planet (no landing therefore) and then to return to Earth.

American astronauts on an asteroid for 2025. This first remains on Barack Obama’s space policy agenda. Credit: NASA

Continuation of robotic exploration of the solar system, research, space observatories and the study of our planet from orbit are obviously still cited as crucial, but worthy of note is a new insistence on the problem of debris. Whether it is pieces of launchers, drifting satellites or debris from collisions, the Earth’s suburbs are now victim of a very real pollution which is hindering space activities. On more than one occasion, the document dated 28 June asserts that is essential to take all necessary measures to solve this problem, reiterating that “All nations have the right to use and explore space, but with this right also comes responsibility”.

Published on 29 June 2010