Former astronaut: The U.S. risks losing the space race if the political leadership in Washington keeps changing exploration goals every time a new Congress or administration takes over
The United States risks losing the space race if the political leadership in Washington keeps changing exploration goals every time a new Congress or administration takes over, warns a former NASA astronaut who has taken a leadership role in the space industry.organizing committee for the International Astronautical Congress, which begins Monday in Washington.
The whole community in the U.S. thought it would be important for the IAC to be in the United States for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo anniversary. It hadn't been in the United States since 2002, so it's about time for it to rotate back. There was a big debate inside the community about where [in the U.S. it should be,] and D.C. became the obvious choice because what we really wanted to do as a community was bring the space industry to D.C.
There's some portion of space that really touches everybody in the nation, but ... it's so woven into our society that people don't think about it. ... We sort of take it for granted now and it's unfortunate. It really is an important domain for everybody in the country, whether you have a major aerospace company in your district or not. ... There are also small companies scattered all over the country that support as suppliers or suppliers for suppliers as well.
It would be nice because NASA can't do it without the funding... You understand how projects work. It's time, money and technology. That three legged stool has to be working together to accomplish things on deadline. If you don't have the money, you're not going to meet the schedule. ... It would be nice if [lawmakers] came over [to the conference] and said, "Wow, we really need to do this.
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