Space Age directive excites

Valley Press ^ | January 15, 2004 | ALLISON GATLIN

[BenLurkin]

Back to the moon, and beyond.

That was the ambitious goal of exploration set forth Wednesday by President George W. Bush, providing a new, clearly stated focus for the efforts of the National Air and Space Administration.

Noting that in the past 30 years — since the end of the Apollo program — no human being has ventured farther into space than “roughly the distance from Washington, D.C., to Boston, Mass.,” the president declared, “It is time for America to take the next steps.”

The presidential directive calls for sending astronauts back to the lunar surface as early as 2015 and no later than 2020. A permanent presence there will be a jumping-off point for further exploration of the universe, including a manned mission to Mars.

A new spacecraft, dubbed the crew exploration vehicle, will be developed to travel beyond Earth’s orbit. Bush’s timeline calls for testing of such a vehicle by 2008, with its first manned mission no later than 2014.

The space shuttle fleet, grounded for nearly a year since the Columbia accident, will be used to complete the international space station by 2010, then retired.

The announcement, anticipated since information about the proposed directive surfaced last week, was met with enthusiasm from those in the Antelope Valley with ties to space travel and industry.

“Congressman McKeon feels this is truly a historic moment in American history,” said Vartan Djihanian, spokesman for Congressman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon. The Santa Clarita Republican’s district includes the Antelope Valley and its long history of aerospace activities.

“He commends the bold vision of the president, and welcomes the opportunities to expand the horizons of human exploration in space,” Djihanian said.

The president’s plans may prove beneficial to California, a historic stronghold for aerospace industry.

“It’s going to be our (Californian) industry leaders, our academic leaders and our aerospace work force that gets us back to the moon,” said Janice Dunn, director of federal government relations for the California Space Authority.

Dunn is encouraged by the president’s promise to dedicate the resources necessary to achieve the lofty goals he set forth, by increasing NASA’s budget.

“For the president to say, ‘We’re going to go there (the moon) and we’re going to stay’ is great,” said Rich Pournelle of Mojave-based XCOR Aerospace Inc. The company is in the business of developing safe, reliable, reusable rocket engines and entering the field of commercial space travel.

The announcement “gets NASA focused back on exploration, expanding the boundaries of human frontiers,” he said.

While it is not expected to have a direct impact on his company’s work, the proposal is exciting for them “as fans of human exploration,” Pournelle said.

“I think it’s a fantastic opportunity for the agency,” said Bob Meyer, deputy director of NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve had an administration and a president make a trip to (NASA) headquarters to announce a space policy.”

Until the space agency’s budget is released Feb. 3, it is unclear what effect the presidential directive will have on NASA’s individual centers.

Many of Dryden’s projects focus on aeronautical research, although the center is involved in the space program, from the original lunar lander to the space shuttle and ongoing projects for its replacement.

As part of the reorganization of NASA to focus on exploration, aeronautics will be separated into its own enterprise within the agency. Under the current structure, it falls under the moniker of “aerospace.”

“Organizationally, this will mean a different way of doing business within the agency,” NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe said. “Aeronautics will have a specific focus in its own right.”

According to a budget projection presented by O’Keefe following Bush’s announcement, the funding for aeronautics and other science activities appears to remain relatively flat for the next 16 years.

Bush announced that funding for the plan would be provided by a $1 billion increase to NASA’s budget over the next five years, as well as reallocating $11 billion of the agency’s $86 billion budget.

One thing seems clear: the presidential directive, with a clear goal and purpose, is designed to inspire future generations of scientists and engineers, in much the same way President John F. Kennedy’s announcement of a push to the moon did in the 1960s.

Meyer, a high school student in the late 1960s, was one of those so inspired by NASA’s earlier efforts, when the agency visited his high school with a presentation about the space program.

“I think it’s going to be a tremendous boost in terms of inspiring the next generation of engineers and scientists,” not only for NASA itself, but other areas of science as well, he said.

This fresh influx of talent could be crucial for the agency and others who are facing retirement of a large portion of the work force, with little new talent to take their places.

[BenLurkin]

Space ping, FRiend.

[Frank_Discussion]

As a modular craft, this should be a pretty nice system.