A month before President Barack Obama is scheduled to travel to Florida to stump for his plan for the future of U.S. human spaceflight -- which is extremely unpopular at Kennedy Space Center and NASA's other human spaceflight centers -- the Utah congressional delegation is calling for the president to reverse course on his proposed cancellation of Project Constellation.This just in from the office of Sen. Orrin Hatch:
Utah Congressional Delegation to Obama:
Don’t Ground Project Constellation
WASHINGTON – Members of Utah’s congressional delegation are urging President Obama to reconsider his decision to kill Project Constellation, NASA’s program to develop the Space Shuttle’s successor and further explore the cosmos.
In a March 15, 2010, letter, Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett and Reps. Jim Matheson, Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz implored the president not to scrub the project, a move that would kill thousands of jobs in Utah and across the U.S. and surrender the nation’s lead in space exploration.
In sending the letter, Hatch said Utah members of Congress want the president to understand the consequences of scrapping Project Constellation and our nation’s manned-space-flight capability.
“Our nation’s investment in the space program has inspired generations of Utahns and paid huge technological dividends over the past 50 years,” Hatch said. “Not only has the space flight program spawned hundreds of new companies, many located in Utah, and thousands of jobs based on the technology such flights demand, but it also played a key role in our nation’s defense sector which provides for our national security. It is vitally important we maintain our nation’s leadership in technology and defense and not cede our leadership position to China, India or Russia. Such a course will come back to haunt us in the future. Cancelling the project now, in a time of high unemployment and after our nation has already invested heavily in the technology, is penny wise and pound foolish.”
“Eliminating NASA’s Constellation and ARES program will put us at a global disadvantage with human space exploration, destroy the industrial base we need to maintain our missile defense capabilities, and cost us thousands of jobs in Utah,” said Bennett. “The president’s decision to cut these programs is a perfect example of what would happen if Congress gave up its constitutional authority to appropriate federal funding. If President Obama refuses to reinstate Project Constellation, I will work to correct this mistake by securing congressionally directed funds for the program.”
“There is a direct link between our national defense capabilities and our role as global leaders in space exploration,” Bishop said. “Destroy one and we stand to lose our global dominance in the other. Cancelling the constellation program would be an irresponsible, irreversible blow to our space and missile defense technologies. The U.S. stands at a crossroads. Move forward with the proven and successful technologies currently under way through the Constellation program, or face handing over our position as global leaders in space and defense technologies to countries such as Russia, China or India. Constellation allows both government and private industries to have a role in space exploration without compromising national defense capabilities, which is why this continues to be the most responsible way forward for our country.”
“America’s national defense strategy is fundamentally interconnected with supremacy in space,” Chaffetz said. “Our troops on the battlefields in Afghanistan and Iraq depend on crucial intelligence-gathering and communication capabilities, which in turn rely on a robust space program. Both private industry and government have necessary roles in our space program. However, directing the space program remains a critical federal mission. It is crucial that the United States, through NASA, remains in charge. We must restore Constellation.”
35 comments:
Oh how I love hypocrisy
Our own leadership here is Florida weeped and folded into the fetal posoition when Obama announced the cancellation of these programs. I am glad to see that there are representatives out there that have the fortitude to address the president and to write such a compelling, factual, and straight forward letter. For the sake of our community and our nation, I hope Obama listens and reconsiders. We need the industry and global advantages our national space program provides.
Obama's plan is "extremely unpopular"? Really? Show us the nationwide polls.
Outside of the space center districts, no one cares much.
It's unpopular where government contractors and their employees are threatened by a change in the status quo. But out of 535 members of Congress, only 27 have signed the letter protesting the proposal (about 5%), and most of those represent space center districts.
A lot of people, including Republicans Newt Gingrich and former Rep./Brevard space lobbyist Robert Walker, have endorsed the proposal.
So please don't distort any further. Florida Today is already distorting the issue by inviting speakers to its space forums who are only opposed to Obama's proposal. How's about presenting all points of view?
12:49 post, you said it about Florida's congressional "leaders." At least the reps from Utah still have some stones.
I hope he does, because personally i think he's made the mother of all mistakes with this.Even Commander Jim Loval of Apollo 13, thinks it's a mistake to massively prolong the return to the moon that would occur once constellation is completely cancelled.
I agree with the letter. Congress needs to act, now!
Stephen C. Smith: Refresh your page. I reworded the sentence in question.
Wow, what a newsflash! They build Constellation's solids in Utah, yes?
This whole hoohah about saving space is really about saving the Constellation program for a couple more years, to the benefit of the Constellation contractors. If successful, it might stretch out the workfare programs at KSC and other NASA sites for a bit, but the end is still in sight. Constellation needs $3 billion a year to even be viable and that money just isn't there. It's a bigger turkey than the shuttle.
This has nothing to do with space and everything to do with aerospace contractors. Jobs? Yes, for a little longer. But the game is over as far as how it turns out.
Our national defense and technological supremacy has little to do with NASA and nothing to do with humans in space. Our military retains a very robust space and technological capability.
These Gravy Train Riders preached us all a sermon about how they hated bailing the Auto Industry and how everyone who needed health care wanted a free ride and a hand-out.
Now the shoe is on the other foot and they want President Obama to Bail-them-out.
I guess Bad Karma is a bee-otch isn't it?
Suffering is okay for other people, just not for Conservative Republicans. Killing people in other lands is okay with them too as long as someone makes a profit -Bound For Hell!
These Conservative Republicans are led by Corporate Fascist (Talk Radio / Fox News) one more of their peers crashed his plane into the IRS Building in Austing recently an avid Talk Radio listener. He crashed his plane quoting Sean Hannity.
These Talk Radio Host are as guilty as Charles Manson for conspiracy to murder and need to be charged as criminals, prosecuted and imprisoned for the murderers that they are.
Re-enact the FAIRNESS DOCTRINE -Call you representatives (Spineless Democrats) demand it!
Let’s get on with what needs to be done and quit throwing stones. Brevard County does not need another layoff of this magnitude. Are you ready for 20% unemployment? If you think matter are tuff now, just wait! We need to have all businesses (big and small) start helping by creating permanent jobs and stop thinking just Profit. This is link to collecting taxes and other revenues that is vital to our economic recovery. As a nation we have to become fiscally responsible and balance our budget. Reduce GOV and waste. Improve our health care system, but the key issue is to get everyone back to work and balancing the budget. Yes space can fit in… we need to figure how it can be accomplished.
Wasted, totally wasted time. Obama is consumed with "fundamentally transforming the United States" . . . . .Space exploration doesn't fit well into the mind of the former "community organizer".
In any event, Obama's word is just about worthless. Move along.
1:34 poster
Hello Antagonist.
As to "show me the polls" comment: Its called Google. Polls on the Washington Post, Orlando Sentinel, Space.com, New York Daily Times and LA Times ALL ran polls and every single one of these stated that the American public is AGAINST Obama's plan.
Say what you want about Bush, when he announced the VSE he did it in a press conference at NASA HQ. Obama tried to sneak his betrayal through in the 2011 budget, we had to find out through leaked sources that he would go back on his promises.
Anonymous above can't be serious.....do you even know a partial list of technical and military advances that were derived out of the space program? Why do such ignorant people even post comments. And you start off saying the defense of our nation has little to do with NASA and then state we retain a robust space capability? You are ignorant and contradict even your own statements.
3 billion a year? lol..Obama just passed out nearly a trillion dollars with next to no oversight and no one can say where most of the money went....way to go.
"I reworded the sentence in question."
It is not reworded on the home page rotating 3 headline summary.
Rename KSC to "ACORN" and we would received all the funds we need that ism one and only thing this "PRESIDENT"
understands why would we expect more???
Oh well. I'll just stick by my original wording. It's extremely unpopular where I sit every day.
FL, AL, LA, TX & UT represent 84 (35%) of the 270 electoral votes needed to win re-election. Granted, most are red states but something tells me he may reconsider this decision at some point.
Anyone remember when he came here and promised to back Constellation and to add an extra Shuttle flight?
1:55 poster: Antagonist or whoever, he's right. And don't worry, Todd. The plan IS unpopular with multitudes of people, in this state and others.
1:23 poster: You are completely wrong about NASA's importance in our national defense and our technological capability. Unfortunately, you and our President will find that out right along with the rest of us.
Todd, unless these people who take offense to your sentence structure are your bosses, don't bother changing it. The plan is only unpopular with idiots who can't grasp what losing Constellation will mean to our community and our nation.
Todd, is the NEW official title for Obamanaut now "Obama-not"? As you have declared yourself one - please let us know.
Sen Nelson spends as much time under Obama's desk as Monica Lewinsky spent under Clinton's desk.
" ... which is extremely unpopular at Kennedy Space Center and NASA's other human spaceflight centers ..."
That works for me, Todd. Thank you. :-)
As for the polls, the polls vary depending on the question. A January 2010 Rasmussen Reports poll found that 50% of Americans favor cutting back on space exploration given the current state of the economy:
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/january_2010/50_favor_cutting_back_on_space_exploration
If you ask someone, "Should we cancel the Moon program?" most will say no. But if you ask them, "Should we increase funding by $5 billion a year for a program already behind schedule and over budget and unlikely to launch a lunar mission until 2028, if ever?" you'll get a different answer.
Maybe those Mormans could fly us into space on those golden discs?
Space states better jump on the commercial bandwagon now. In five years there will be an open commercial space facility and once capitalism hits human space flight to leo, exploration is going to open up. better the states start funding start ups now.
Ask Harry Reid. He is one.
Montreal here again.
I have an article from A w and sp tech that talks about Boieng being one of those companies that would receive some supposed commercial funding.
Didn t they loose the Orion contract fare and square a few years back. who s hand did they bribe in the administration. how can they claim to be able to bild a spaceship with a few 10s of millions when they were competing for a multibillion dollars contract then. This could make a good subject of an
investigative report by this newspaper or another. Just follow the money.
Now to make a point that is more related to the letter published in the above article, when I read that gen Bolden was selected to head NASA, I was thrilled. At last an ex astronaut, I said to miself. But now I think that if he advocated these ideas to the president and that they are hopefully shot down by Congress, Then how can he retain is credibillity with Congress, NASA employees and everyone else.
He would have to resign right. John Young or another of the remaning Apollo 12s I E the moonwalkers or Jim Lovell Would be exellent candedates for the jobs, short of rehiring Michael Griffin, who should never have been let go in the firts place.
That was pres Obama s first strike.
Constellation has generated thousands of jobs down throught the supply channel from NASA to its Prime Contractors to tier ones to tier twos and tier threes. As a citizen and a Michiganian with a state shuddered by 30% overall unemployment, some of those tier suppliers are located in Michigan. Now someone explain to me how cancelling a program that shall cost the U.S. its lead in the space technology fields, cost its research that Lockheed Martin is conducting with the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for the Orion Space Capsule, and cost more jobs in Michigan is a constructive and socially a good thing for the country, now can some person of marginal intelligence please explain in layman's language how our esteemed President has a such a higher understanding of economics than the lowly voter or Aerospace Engineer? In this writer's opinion, his promises to fund NASA and Constellation were merely empty examples of rhetoric to get himself elected. This administration is doing a piss poor job of creating jobs but a fabulous job at losing jobs.
Anonymous at 4:17 PM wrote:
"Space states better jump on the commercial bandwagon now. In five years there will be an open commercial space facility and once capitalism hits human space flight to leo, exploration is going to open up. better the states start funding start ups now."
I was just reading an article on SpaceFlightNow.com about an Air Force secretary claiming that the retirement of Shuttle and the end of Constellation will somehow bloat what they're charged for Delta and Atlas launches. More miliary-industrial complex malarkey.
But what was interesting was the USAF rep's comment at the end:
*****
When asked by lawmakers for the most serious challenge facing military space programs, Payton cited eroding industrial capabilities that could force costs higher.
"One of the things that's most frustrating to me is the space industrial base," Payton said. "Our costs are going up because a number of the second and third-tier players are getting out of the space business. They are getting out because they cannot compete effectively with overseas competitors for a worldwide market. That is our increasing our costs."
*****
"They are getting out because they cannot compete effectively with overseas competitors for a worldwide market."
Hello?!
That's the whole point of Obama's proposal. There's international competition now. We can no longer adhere to a government monopoly. That's why these "players" can't compete. Their businesses operate on a government contract model, not on a capitalist model.
It continues to amaze me that people who claim to be Republican and conservative can't make the connection that continuing what by strict definition is a socialist government rocket program is not in the nation's interest. The private sector has to be liberated to compete in the global market, or it will die. The fact that they expect the government to continue paying them fat contracts rather than compete is a major symptom.
SpaceX and Orbital are going with Russian-made engines. That should be a clear message there's a problem, when the nascent commercial launch business is going overseas for a launch engine.
Florida...we couldn't even keep the space program going...we're just stupid that way.
RUBBER DUCKY .. DO YOU OWN ANY PROPERTY IN BREVARD COUNTY??
Thank you Utah! There needs to be more states jumping on the bandwagon.
It is bizarre to see Republicans demanding taxpayer dollars to continue a program with as little practical benefit as Constellation, purely to keep themselves employed, and viciously attacking a Democratic president for allowing private industry to enter the field of spaceflight and show how private industry really can be efficient.
But the most egregious of all was Weldon, who never objected a bit when Bush canceled Shuttle and transferred KSC jobs to Alabama and Utah, but now Weldon demands that Social Security and Medicare be cut to pay for Constellation. Hey Mr. Weldon! Obama increased the NASA budget. He just insists that NASA do something useful to the people of America in return for its tax dollars. And we are ready to do so, but we can't, because KSC is just a launch base and has no funds for R&D.
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