Is Obama grounding JFK's space legacy?
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Is Obama grounding JFK's space legacy?
By: Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell and Gene Cernan, USA
TODAY
"First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to
achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on
the moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space
project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more
important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be
so difficult or expensive to accomplish."-President John F.
Kennedy, Joint Session of Congress, May 25, 1961
Was President Kennedy a dreamer, a visionary, or simply
politically astute? We may never know, but he had the courage to
make that bold proposal 50 years ago Wednesday. The Soviet Union's
Yuri Gagarin had completed an orbit of the Earth the previous month
and electrified the world. The United States had taken only one
human, Alan Shepard, above 100 miles altitude and none into orbit.
Americans, embarrassed by the successes of our Cold War adversary,
were eager to demonstrate that we too were capable of great
achievements in space.
President Kennedy called in the leaders of the nascent National
Aeronautics and Space Administration for their opinion on any space
goal that Uncle Sam could win. They concluded that the only
possibility was a manned lunar landing, and that would include all
the principal elements of human space travel.
The president decided this was the right project, the right
time, and the Americans were the right people.
"Now it is time to take longer strides - time for a great
new American enterprise - time for this nation to take a clearly
leading role in space achievement, which in many ways may hold the
key to our future on earth.
… Let it be clear that I am asking the Congress and the
country to accept a firm commitment to a new course of action, a
course which will last for many years and carry very heavy
costs."
- President Kennedy
A half century has passed since Kennedy challenged our citizenry
to do what most thought to be impossible. The subsequent American
achievements in space were remarkable: Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and
Skylab. Our efforts enhanced international cooperation with
Apollo-Soyuz, the space shuttle and the International Space
Station. The compelling fascination of our space achievements among
young people spurred their interest in education.
By 2005, in keeping with President Kennedy's intent and
America's resolve, NASA was developing the Constellation program,
focusing on a return to the moon while simultaneously developing
the plans and techniques to venture beyond, and eventually to
Mars.
The program enjoyed near-unanimous support, being approved and
endorsed by the Bush administration and by both Democratic and
Republican Congresses. However, due to its congressionally
authorized funding falling victim to Office of Management and
Budget cuts, earmarks and other unexpected financial diversions,
Constellation fell behind schedule. An administration-appointed
review committee concluded the Constellation program was "not
viable" due to inadequate funding.
President Obama's proposed 2011 budget did not include funds for
Constellation, therefore essentially canceling the program. It sent
shock waves throughout NASA, the Congress and the American people.
Nearly $10 billion had been invested in design and development of
the program.
Many respected experts and members of Congress voiced concern
about the president's proposal. Some supported the president's
plan,but most were critical. The supporters' biases were often
evident, particularly when there was a vested or economic interest
in the outcome.
Obama's advisers, in searching for a new and different NASA
strategy with which the president could be favorably identified,
ignored NASA's operational mandate and strayed widely from
President Kennedy's vision and the will of the American people.
"We intend to be first. In short, our leadership in science
and in industry, our hopes for peace and security, our obligations
to ourselves as well as others, all require us to make this effort,
to solve these mysteries, to solve them for the good of all men,
and to become the world's leading space-faring nation."
- President Kennedy
Congress, realizing the devastating effects to the plans,
program and morale of those trying to keep America in the forefront
of exploring the universe and expanding the human frontier, worked
diligently to steer NASA's program back toward Kennedy's goals.
Congress passed an authorization bill directing NASA to begin
development of a large rocket capable of carrying humans toward the
moon and beyond and to continue development of a multipurpose
spacecraft based on the configuration that was being developed in
the Constellation program. However, the president's 2012 budget
reduced funding significantly below the authorized amount for both
the big rocket and the multipurpose crew vehicle.
On the other hand, the president's budget had significantly
increased funding over the congressional direction in the area of
space technology research programs and the development of rockets
and spacecraft by the commercial entrepreneurs.
Congress stated that rather than depending on NASA subsidies,
the development of commercial sources to supply cargo and crew to
the International Space Station should be a partnership between
government and industry.
Entrepreneurs in the space transportation business assert that
they can offer such service at a very attractive price -
conveniently not factoring in the NASA-funded development costs.
These expenditures, including funds to insure safety and
reliability, can be expected to be substantially larger and more
time consuming than the entrepreneurs predict.
The response to Kennedy's bold challenge a half-century ago has
led to America's unchallenged leadership in space. We take enormous
pride in all that has been accomplished in the past 50 years. And
we have the people, the skills and the wherewithal to continue to
excel and reach challenging goals in space exploration.
But today, America's leadership in space is slipping. NASA's
human spaceflight program is in substantial disarray with no
clear-cut mission in the offing. We will have no rockets to carry
humans to low-Earth orbit and beyond for an indeterminate number of
years. Congress has mandated the development of rocket launchers
and spacecraft to explore the near-solar system beyond Earth orbit.
But NASA has not yet announced a convincing strategy for their use.
After a half-century of remarkable progress, a coherent plan for
maintaining America's leadership in space exploration is no longer
apparent.
"We have a long way to go in this space race. But this is
the new ocean, and I believe that the United States must sail on it
and be in a position second to none."
- President Kennedy
Kennedy launched America on that new ocean. For 50 years we
explored the waters to become the leader in space exploration.
Today, under the announced objectives, the voyage is over. John F.
Kennedy would have been sorely disappointed.
Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell and Gene Cernan
all commanded moon missions. Armstrong was the first man to reach
the lunar surface, and Cernan was the last to leave it.