Politics And Space Policy

In the election November 2, the Republican Party took control of the U. S. House of Representatives and made gains in the Senate. Assuming the majority in the House, however, is the big deal. It means Republicans will hold committee chairs and decide which bills and which policies get real consideration. That means, in turn, that space policy could change again.

Some in Congress, including a few Republicans, have objected to the Obama administration's plans for NASA. More broadly, however, the GOP won the election by emphasizing the need to reduce government spending, and, at some point, to cut taxes. Often in the past when spending cuts have been in vogue, NASA has been among the first targets, regardless of which party has been wielding the ax.

Congress, therefore, has treated NASA as a luxury when politics get tough. At the same time, however, NASA also enjoys broad bipartisan support in Congress as well as among the American people. So, what will happen to the U. S. manned spaceflight program? Extending the life of ISS beyond 2020-- an Obama policy-- may well hold. But will Congress reinstate a specifc goal, like returning astronauts to the Moon in the near future as a way to organize and energize NASA's technology development effort? President Obama has called for a manned mission to an asteroid by 2025, but that seems to be a one shot deal to some that could be folded into a larger lunar base program.

Returning to the Moon sooner rather than later, or setting sail for Mars, of course, would require increasing NASA's budget, which would seem to be contrary to the basic GOP approach. On the other hand, maintaining U. S. leadership in space is likely something Republicans see as a positive. The direction of America's manned spaceflight program may still be open to question.