President Obama's plan to kill NASA's moon rocket program may not be popular on the Space Coast, but the Washington lobbyist Brevard County paid until recently to represent its space interests thinks it's a good idea. In a Friday Washington Times opinion piece co-authored with Newt Gingrich, former congressman Robert Walker strongly supported a transition to commercially operated rocket fleets for flying astronauts and cargo into low Earth orbit.
"Despite the shrieks you might have heard from a few special interests, the Obama administration's budget for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration deserves strong approval from Republicans," begins the piece titled "Obama's brave reboot for NASA."
"The 2011 spending plan for the space agency does what is obvious to anyone who cares about man's future in space and what presidential commissions have been recommending for nearly a decade."
Walker, executive chairman of Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates, was a Republican representative for Pennsylvania's 16th district between 1977 and 1997 and chaired the Committee on Science and Technology.
He chaired the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry in 2001, and in 2004 served on the President's Commission on Implementation of the U.S. Space Exploration Policy, according to his bio.
Brevard County commissioners hired Walker's firm in October 2007 to an $180,000 contract, anticipating the need for legislative help as the shuttle program's retirement approached.
The contract was not renewed last fall, according to a county official.
The county still has one D.C.-based lobbyist under contract: Eddy Pauley of Pauley Management, Inc.
The commission has a workshop scheduled Feb. 25 in Viera at which lobbying contracts may be discussed.
18 comments:
Here's a question you will see on Jeopardy next year under the category Common Bonds.
Ethopia, Somolia, Haiti, and the United States.
Alex, That would be "What 4 countries do not have the ability to launch a human into space."
We have losing our status as a Super Power. JFK is spinning in his grave.
Despite the shrieks you might have heard from a few special interests, the Obama administration's budget for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration deserves strong approval from Republicans," begins the piece titled "Obama's brave reboot for NASA." - The shrieks are from 10,000 people about to lose their jobs and they will grow as all the small business in the area start losing their income. This would not have been as bad if the state would have prepared over of the years, but it seems it does not matter now. KSC could have been the hub for whatever came along, now it will sit idle, until a future president realizes that "Obama's brave reboot for NASA" was a backward step to stroke the current presidents own ego.
Incidentally, all of the conservatives I know support the space program as the only government agency that actually produces anything. This fellow does NOT represent all republicans.
So if Newt agrees, it must be ok. I'm still waiting for someone to explain the purpose of going to the moon again. I'm still waiting for someone to explain the negative of having private companies take over low altitude flights.
Obama announces resignation on Presidents day? That works for me.
Newt For President... well, at the very least he's always been a big supporter of the aerospace industry.
The inside discussion among space-minded experts and objective viewers-of-the-scene agrees 100% with Bob Walker. One said "This is the first intelligent space budget since the end of Apollo."
And it is not the end of US manned space, just the end of operations-intensive NASA budgets. The shift from NASA control/NASA operations to the commercial sector doesn't even change potential outcomes: underneath NASA's bureaucratic oversight has always been the hard work and heavy lifting in engineering and design being done by contractors. That is, the private sector has always been the source of our manned-space technology. All this budget does is remove NASA's dead hand from the tiller.
Will it hurt the Space Coast? To be seen. End-of-shuttle has always carried deep layoffs and real economic pain. This won't make that worse and it might mitigate. Tune out the bleating by Constellation backers. That's special pleading for specific benefits for a select few, not the-end-of-manned-space-efforts, as some would have it.
Brilliant budget. Bright move.
JFK has been spinning in his grave since was put 6 ft. under by the mob. Wonder if you even read the article?
How are we not still a Super Power, because we are retiring the shuttle? Or because the Constellation program (behind budget and behind schedule) has been PROPOSED to be cancelled?
How much money do you think this gov't spends a year on the military?
Brad in M.I.
Adding to the chorus of voices documenting the fallacies of those who attack Obama's proposal is this article from the Asia Times:
www.atimes.com/atimes/China/LB12Ad01.html
Among other things, we learn that China's lunar program is pretty much a joke. Their heavy-lifter exists nowhere but on paper, and even if it did they have no place to launch it.
Nor is China investing in growing its commercial space industry as we are.
So the next time someone claims the Chinese are going to beat us to the Moon, (1) tell them we got there 40 years ago and (2) demand they show you any evidence that the Chinese will be there in the next 20 years. For now, it's all pretty pictures on paper and nothing more.
Anonymous got the pink slip, WAH WAH WAH you won't be sitting on your butt at taxpayer expense watching Jeopardy anymore.
I may be a conservative Republican, but Newt makes me sick. Stick to what you do best Mr. G...backing spineless Republican candidates in upstate New York. Other than that you are simply a RINO.
Seriously? Because we aren't going to waste money to send people into space and actually get NASA back on track is going to cause us to turn into a 3rd world country? Someone has been watching a little too much Glen Beck hasn't he!?!
I'll bet you've had this gravy train for many years.
Join the people that have struggled for years while their K.S.C. neighbors have bought "toys."
Finally "join the club."
JFK is not the only one spinning in his grave!! Why are we giving credence to a lobbyist? His mouth does what it is paid to do. When Brevard County stopped paying him to speak their mind, he went to where there was money!! Big Deal!! Who is feeding him now?
Of course you're RIGHT, Comrade Walker. The tens of thousands of talented people soon to leave Brevard thank you for your support of President Obama.
How typically Repugnant!
Stop the checks and he throws you under the nearest Space Coast Transit Bus!
Yup Repugs! He's "your guy" alright!
ROFLMAO!
It is better to keep aerospace workers employed and working on the Space Shuttle and Ares program then placed in unemployment and welfare lines!
It is time to send a message to Congress, Senators and the President. If the Space Shuttle and Ares program are retired, they will be retired too!!
Retire the worthless Congress, Senate and President!!
People who support Obama’s new plan for supporting “commercial” spaceflight are laughably naïve. NASA isn’t laying off anybody, private contractors are. So we’ll keep the same government employees, lay off private contractors, then sub out the work for other private contractors who haven’t launched anybody into space before, who’s only customer is the government. We’ll cancel any future exploration due to not meeting deadlines and budget and create a vague idea of “future technologies” with no timeline or budget constraints in the hopes that the people who invented Paypal also invent an interplanetary warping device. . We’ll praise the president for giving a “bold new direction for NASA” even though in essence we just kicked the can down the road for another president to worry about. And people fall for this?
President Obama could have reversed the Space Shuttle retirement; but, he did not care about laying off 10,000 aerospace workers. He had no concern keeping the U.S. in manned space flight, so he cancelled the Ares program.
The U.S. has an enemy in the White House -- Obama.
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