America First? Not in space with this budget blueprint.

The Trump administration released their first budget blueprint today, and NASA could face a decrease in spending. As you can imagine, The Space Endeavor, strongly opposes such a near-sighted and uninformed budget design for America’s space agency. If America hopes to maintain our leadership in space and continue to push the boundaries of exploration, NASA will need a substantial budget increase. Like many other presidents, Trump has abandoned the needed investment for robust space exploration. Unlike other presidents, he has signaled the unwillingness to adequately study our home planet—fearing the results will counter his own opinions. Having said all of this, this is not the final budget. Only Congress has the power to budget, but they will likely come close to the administration’s proposal.

What did NASA lose and keep?

• Overall: 2017 Budget ($19.2 billion) → 2018 Proposal ($19.1 billion)
• $102 million loss to the Earth science budget. Most of the budget cuts come from missions attempting to gain knowledge regarding climate change.
• Elimination of NASA’s Office of Education (-$115 million), which would likely demolish NASA scholarships for students entering STEM fields and student programs associated with those fields.
• Cuts $88 million from the Robotic Refueling Mission.
• Elimination of missions to place a lander on Jupiter’s moon (Europa) and a crewed asteroid redirect flight using the Orion capsule.
• Space Launch System, Orion capsule, Commercial Crew, and International Space Station funding is relatively maintained.

Bottom line: NASA needs a budget increase—not a decrease. Both political parties have underserved NASA for many years, and it, unfortunately, continued today. America and the world prosper from the advancements and inspiration that NASA provides. Further curtailing an agency that turns dreams into reality only harms the future we hope to achieve.

Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/nasa-budget-would-cut-earth-science-and-education/2017/03/15/c08e1e2c-0997-11e7-93dc-00f9bdd74ed1_story.html?utm_term=.b28af25d2c7e

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-presidential-budget-2018-proposal/?utm_term=.a1a70362d103

http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a25714/nasa-budget-trump-2018/

Serious space policy or continued bluster?

Last month NASA announced they were conducting a feasibility study on adding a crew to the first planned mission for their new rocket—the Space Launch System (SLS). Currently, the first flight of the SLS (Exploration Mission 1 or EM-1) is scheduled for late 2018 with an uncrewed Orion spacecraft. The first crewed mission would occur around 2021 according to the current plan. This study apparently comes at the urging of the Trump administration, which has yet to name a NASA administrator. Is this idea just political bluster?

Before I dive into my analysis of the idea, let’s cover the basics of NASA’s new rocket and capsule. The rocket, SLS, is being designed to take astronauts past low Earth orbit. There will be several configurations known as “blocks” to gain higher performance. Astronauts will reside in the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, often referred to as the Orion spacecraft. It strongly resembles the Apollo Command/Service Module that carried astronauts to the Moon in the 1960s.   SLS and Orion are pictured below.

SLS Block Configurations. Photo Credit: NASA

Artist Rendition of Orion in Earth Orbit. Photo Credit: NASA

With that covered, let’s head back to my thoughts on the feasibility study. I am tremendously skeptical of this potential shift in mission schedule. Without a long-term space policy in place, rushing into a crewed mission serves no useful purpose. Rushing into a plan where astronauts are aboard the first SLS/Orion flight will increase risk substantially. Some of this risk could be mitigated with more funding, but that is unlikely to happen. Additionally, there is no reason to squander precious financial and time resources without a long-term plan in place. It is best to take a step by step approach with space hardware development with no long-term plan in place. My main point is simple—we need a long-term plan (ideally 10-15 years) for space exploration before rushing into anything.  

If the Trump administration would propose—and fund—a robust space policy with specifically defined goals, I would happily support the effort. Having said that, many presidents have offered grand space plans without properly shepherding the proposal through Congress for approval. When plans have been approved by Congress, administrations usually fail to push Congress for adequate funding (i.e. George W. Bush’s 2004 Vision for Space Exploration).

Given the terrible track record most presidents have with space policy, I have serious doubts about Trump’s ability to articulate, push for, and provide enduring support for a robust space effort. President Trump has a history of making grandiose proposals and statements without the needed backing. Furthermore, if President Trump waits until late this year or later to make his space policy proposal, his political capital will likely be too depleted for a major shift in space policy. A major policy change towards increased space exploration outside low Earth orbit will require more funding if NASA continues to operate the International Space Station and other important programs.

At the beginning of this post I asked if this proposal was political bluster by the new administration. My answer: without a doubt. Trump is trying to have a “Kennedy” space moment without the wisdom, support, and effort President Kennedy gave in the 1960s.

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Learn more about SLS and Orion using the links below:

https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html

https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/orion/index.html

Sources used:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nasa-studies-adding-crew-to-super-rocket-test-flight/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/02/24/nasa-officials-discuss-trumps-push-for-first-term-moon-mission/?utm_term=.8bc8d290b207