Advancing the Frontiers of Space Explora…

Advancing the Frontiers of Space Exploration “[...] Better Coordination with Other Federal Agencies Involved in Space The Department of Defense (DOD) invests heavily in space assets to provide troops with weather, communications, navigation, early warning, space surveillance and other information critical to conducting military operations. In fiscal year 2008 alone, DOD expects to spend over $22 billion dollars to develop and procure satellites, launch vehicles, and other space systems. This is more than NASA’s annual budget. The National Reconnaissance Office operates satellites that provide information essential to national security and global stability. In addition, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration operates an array of weather satellites that provide billions of dollars of benefit to the U.S. taxpayer. Barack Obama believes that NASA can work more closely with other federal agencies to take advantage of their expertise and technologies. This includes sharing research and technical information as well as better coordination of acquisition programs. Ensuring an integrated and fully coordinated national space program will be the major responsibility of the re- established National Aeronautics and Space Council. Obama will also work to better integrate NASA in a better coordinated national science policy. Obama will appoint an Assistant to the President for Science and Technology Policy who will report directly to the president, and be deeply involved in establishing research priorities that reflect the nation’s needs based on the best available advice from experts around the country. [...]

“Expanding Public/Private Partnerships to Advance Leading Edge Technologies The commercial space sector plays an essential role in the lives of normal Americans, contributing more than $100 billion to the global economy. Commercial satellites support direct-to-home television and digital audio services to over 30 million U.S. subscribers, high-speed Internet, traffic and weather monitoring, rapid transfer of financial data, and the imagery essential to natural resource and city planning. Technologies developed to meet the challenges of space exploration have found more than 30,000 commercial uses in products ranging from tennis shoes to medical equipment, bar codes, pacemakers and sunglasses, to technology that makes air travel safer and more efficient. Barack Obama knows that advanced space and aeronautics research can help catalyze economic growth. He will encourage public/private space technology partnerships to spur innovation.

  • Enhancing the Role of NASA as a Premier Institution of Innovation: Engineers and scientists at

NASA have developed state-of-the-art innovations across the technological spectrum in areas ranging
from solar cells and imaging to communications and aeronautics. Barack Obama will renew NASA’s
commitment to innovation-driving basic research that the private sector can use to develop new products for American consumers.

  • Increasing Commercialization Benefits: Obama will promote cost sharing initiatives between government and industry to increase the state of the art in various technical areas, such as micro- electromechanical systems, nanotechnology, and biotechnology. Obama will establish multi-agency programs that focus on rapid maturation of advanced concepts and transfer to industry for commercialization.
  • Jumpstarting Consumer Technology: Obama will expand the use of prizes for revolutionary

technical achievements that can benefit society, and funds for joint industry/government rapid-to-the-
consumer technology advances.

  • Supporting Commercial Access to Space: Obama will stimulate the commercial use of space and private sector utilization of the International Space Station. He will establish new processes and procurement goals to promote the use of government facilities. We must unleash the genius of private enterprise to secure the United States’ leadership in space.
  • Revising Regulations for Aerospace Export Control: Some sections of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) have unduly hampered the competitiveness of domestic aerospace industry. Outdated restrictions have cost billions of dollars to American satellite and space hardware manufacturers as customers have decided to purchase equipment from European suppliers. While protecting our national security interests, Barack Obama will direct a review of the ITAR to reevaluate restrictions imposed on American companies, with a special focus on space hardware that is currently restricted from commercial export. He will also direct revisions to the licensing process to ensure that American suppliers are competitive in the international aerospace markets, without jeopardizing American national security.
  • Expanding the American Skill Base in Science and Engineering: Barack Obama fully supports efforts to advance new frontiers in technical areas, such as advanced structures, power generation, communication and navigation systems, and biomedical systems. These efforts address the requirements for exploration, but also have high potential for technological benefits in the private sector as well as in training the next generation of scientists and engineers.”

http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/policy/Space_Fact_Sheet_FINAL.pdf

Cf.

“President Obama’s plan for America’s space program, according to early reports, represents a fundamental shift for human spaceflight, some experts say.

The reports suggest the Obama administration intends to move toward relying on commercially-built spacecraft, rather than NASA’s own vehicles, to carry humans to low-Earth orbit. The plan would also involve extending the International Space Station’s lifetime and abandoning current plans to send astronauts on moon missions by 2020.

“This is definitely a paradigm shift in the way the country will go about its space program,” said John Logsdon, a space policy expert and professor emeritus at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.”

http://www.space.com/news/obama-nasa-space-plan-reactions-100128.html