David Williams: With rocket launch comes a payload of red ink
At long last, liftoff. On November 16, the Space Launch System (SLS), an immensely powerful rocket, kickstarted a weeks-long round-trip journey to the moon. So far, the Orion capsule perched on the rocket appears on track to approach and orbit the moon. When the spacecraft returns to Earth and splashes into the Pacific in December, the bipartisan backers of the lunar mission will surely hail the endeavor a success. But, the resurgent and unreserved enthusiasm for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reveals a critical flaw in public policy priorities. Rather than championing space exploration at any cost, lawmakers should push for cost-effective missions with private sector involvement. With $30 trillion in debt and counting, now is not the time for another black hole of wasteful spending. Even if Orion safely hurdles back to Earth, the current unmanned expedition is only one part of a larger sequence of Artemis missions. Once flight paths around the moon are adequately tested via the Orion voyage, the 5.7-million-pound SLS rocket will carry astronauts back to the lunar surface for the first time in more than half a century. The importance of the SLS rocket has certainly not been lost on appropriators. Ten years ago, prevailing opinion at America’s space agency was that the rocket would only take five years to develop and cost “only” $6 billion. Not surprisingly, development costs ballooned to $20 billion, along with a $4 billion per launch bill for taxpayers. As NASA Inspector General (IG) Paul Martin noted in a March meeting of the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, the per launch price tag is “unsustainable” and “does not include development costs required to get the Artemis program to this point in time.” SLS rocket costs are only a small quadrant in a wider galaxy of wasteful mission spending. The IG found that NASA has already spent $40 billion to get astronauts back to the moon and will likely spend nearly $100 billion total on the endeavor. Even if this mission is “successful” and astronauts manage to build a lunar base and conduct research free from harm, the goalposts for manned missions will shift at taxpayers’ expense. Combined mission (and settlement) costs to the moon and Mars could easily rival interest payments on the debt – which are projected to grow significantly due to rising expenditures and climbing interest rates. The exorbitant space exploration bill could be justified if mankind was mired in a sci-fi dystopia and had to leave the Earth pronto. If policymakers got their heads out of the clouds, though, they’d realize that robotic exploration can complete missions at a fraction of manned exploration costs. Cambridge cosmology and astrophysics professor and astronomer royal Martin Rees rightly notes, “the practical case (for human spaceflight) gets weaker and weaker with every advance in robotics and miniaturization.” NASA seems to agree: “[r]obots don’t need to eat or sleep or go to the bathroom. They can survive in space for many years and can be left out there – no need for a return trip!” And prolonged human forays into space are not without their health risks. The risks – ranging from radiation to the psychological impacts of isolation – can squander precious lives and lead to all sorts of mission complications. That’s not to say that humans should never endeavor toward the stars. But, given the large costs and risks currently thrust on taxpayers, manned exploration makes more sense as a private-sector undertaking. Already, companies are signing up to develop the successor to the International Space Station. There’d surely be an upside in taking private ambitions to the moon and Mars, especially if these celestial bodies could serve as bases for asteroid mining. And naturally, many would pay top-dollar to step foot on an alien world. Even if these capitalistic aspirations are decades away, there needn’t be any rush to get some thick-soled boots on the ground. In the meantime, NASA should stick with inexpensive unmanned missions and work with lawmakers to keep spending low. Space can be traversed without strapping future generations to a payload of red ink. David Williams is the president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
Artemis set to launch just after midnight
The National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) announced Monday that its Artemis launch teams have been called to stations. The countdown has officially begun towards a launch for Artemis I on Wednesday, November 16th, during a two-hour launch window beginning at 12:04 a.m. CST. The Artemis I mission is unmanned; but is a test of the Artemis spacecraft, which will be carried into space by the Space Launch System (SLS) – the most powerful rocket ever made. The Space Launch System engineering is headquartered at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. The SLS, like the Space Shuttle and Apollo missions before it, will be launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Flight Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Artemis will be the vehicle that will take man back to the Moon after a 50-year absence, including the first woman and first African-American to walk on the Moon. NASA plans to eventually establish a permanent manned presence on the Moon and plans for a manned mission to Mars late in the 2030s. The Artemis I mission had been planned for September but had to be scrubbed several times due to problems with a fuel line not working properly on the SLS. Then in late September had to be taken off of the launchpad and sent back to the assembly building due to Hurricane Ian. The ship is now repaired, and Florida is sufficiently recovered from the hurricanes that NASA can operate efficiently. The SLS looks like an Apollo-era Saturn V rocket with two Space Shuttle-era solid rocket boosters attached, and that is not that far off from what it is, but it will allow NASA to carry larger payloads farther than ever before. For decades since Apollo, manned space flight has been limited to low Earth orbit with the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. Artemis will make manned space flight beyond Earth orbit not only possible but potentially routine. Artemis I will fly to the Moon, orbit, and then return to Earth. If all goes well with the unmanned missions, NASA could potentially launch a manned Artemis mission as early as 2024. The moon base mission is tentatively scheduled for 2028. Thousands of Alabamians, both at NASA and its many contractors, have worked for years to make this mission a reality. You can watch the mission live on NASA TV. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Richard Shelby delivers opening remarks at FY18 NASA budget hearing
On Thursday, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) held a hearing to review the FY2018 $19.1 billion budget request for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) — a $561 million decrease from current FY2017 funding. Alabama U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, Chairman of the committee, delivered opening remarks in the subcommittee hearing. “This budget request attempts to navigate a challenging fiscal environment, but would disrupt ongoing missions and delay future exploration for years to come,” Shelby said. Shelby continued, “This subcommittee has strived to provide balance funding to the overall NASA portfolio, while also ensuring that ongoing activities are appropriately funded to accomplish NASA’s missions. I look forward to working with you to achieve the appropriate balance for NASA’s missions.” Shelby’s full remarks, as prepared, are below: I am pleased to welcome Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot to the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Subcommittee hearing to examine NASA’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget request. Mr. Lightfoot and I worked well together during his tenure as the Director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Mr. Lightfoot, thank you for serving as NASA’s leader during this time of change and I appreciate you joining us today. The Administration has proposed a fiscal year 2018 budget of $19.1 billion dollars for NASA, which is a reduction of 2.9 percent from the current year level. While this overall cut is less than many other agencies experienced in the President’s budget request, it still reflects a significant reduction of $561 million. This budget request attempts to navigate a challenging fiscal environment, but would disrupt ongoing missions and delay future exploration for years to come. There are proposals to cut science missions and to eliminate the entire education directorate using the rationale that NASA could do without these programs under a reduced budget. Other research programs are left with insufficient financial resources, which will make it impossible for NASA to meet its own management plans and launch schedules. For human exploration, the current administration picks up where the previous administration left off, by projecting a lofty vision for space while providing a budget that keeps that vision from leaving Earth. The Space Launch System and the Orion crew capsule are designed to break our human space program free of its decade’s long tether to low Earth orbit, eventually sending our astronauts to Mars. In addition, SLS will provide NASA with a versatile platform to deliver planetary robotic science and space-based astronomy missions. SLS is the vehicle that will make possible many of NASA’s goals to push the boundaries of exploration. I look forward to an initial launch of SLS and will work to see that a crewed-launch will follow soon thereafter. I believe we must have an accurate budget to reflect these launch decisions and to meet our nation’s exploration goals. If the other pieces necessary for exploration are not ready, we will lose time and waste funds in the near-term that could be used for other important activities down the road. NASA, I believe, must ensure that the rigor with which it reviews its own missions is applied to all of its activities and avoid pressure to send astronauts to space at any cost. There is a growing sentiment that NASA should change the way it does business; that it should be a buyer of commercial transportation services. Were it not for billions in development funds from NASA acting as venture capital, there would be no companies attempting to one day take crews to the space station. Even with this investment, the companies NASA will use for commercial crew services are behind in schedule, the program has increased in cost, and independent observers cite the inability of our partners to meet contracted safety standards. While risk is inherent in anything NASA chooses to undertake, there is no replacement for proper analysis and reasonable precaution when lives and the resources of the nation are at stake. When it comes to agency operations, I am encouraged to see the investments in information technology and cybersecurity in this proposed budget. NASA is very popular with the public and also has a significant amount of data for scientists to use in understanding the universe around us. I believe it is incumbent that NASA be able to share its findings, but the agency must also maintain a secure cyber environment for operations. NASA’s innovative ideas often involve significant risk and also require significant investment. This subcommittee has strived to provide balance funding to the overall NASA portfolio, while also ensuring that ongoing activities are appropriately funded to accomplish NASA’s missions. As with any administration, the proposed budget represents a snapshot in time based on decisions made with the most relevant information available. As the subcommittee moves ahead to produce our annual spending bill, I look forward to working with you to achieve the appropriate balance for NASA’s missions.
Alabama Congressional members join President at White House for signing of NASA Authorization bill
Several members of the Alabama delegation trekked across town in Washington, D.C. Tuesday morning to join President Donald Trump at a bill-signing ceremony. Alabama Members —Sen. Luther Strange along with Alabama U.S. Reps. Martha Roby, Robert Aderholt, and Mo Brooks — flanked Trump in the Oval Office as he signed the NASA Transition Authorization Act, a $19.5 billion in NASA funding for the 2018 budget year and adds human exploration of Mars as an agency objective. “With this legislation, we support NASA’s scientists, engineers and astronauts and their pursuit of discovery,” Trump continued. “This bill will make sure that NASA’s most important and effective programs are sustained.” Among the policy provisions included are designating the Mission to Mars as the nation’s primary long-term exploration goal and identifying the Space Launch System as the deep space vehicle, which is managed at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. The bill also calls on NASA to submit a detailed plan for how deep space exploration by astronauts will proceed. “This legislation gives NASA the long-term purpose and stability NASA needs to accomplish its robust missions, including the Space Launch System and Orion Spacecraft,” said Brooks who represents Alabama’s Fifth District, which includes the Marshall Space Flight Center. “In signing this legislation, President Trump demonstrated his strong support for NASA and reaffirmed America’s commitment to human spaceflight and the journey to Mars. These programs play into the strengths of the Marshall Space Flight Center and focus on areas in which Marshall has excelled for more than half a century.” Alabama’s new U.S. Senator Luther Strange echoed Brooks’ support. “Alabamians make crucial contributions to our nation’s space programs,” Strange told Alabama Today. “I was proud today to join the President as he reauthorized funding for NASA, with a special focus on the vital missions of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. Together, we will work to keep NASA on the cutting edge of deep space exploration, with Alabamians leading the way. If Alabama’s 2nd District U.S. Rep. Martha Roby, a member of the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee, has anything to say about it, NASA will continue to have the resources it needs to operate saying she’s committed “to ensuring NASA has the resources it needs to remain the world’s preeminent space program.” “Alabamians are proud of the key role NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville plays in the space program,” Roby added. “This bill will ensure important NASA exploration efforts are authorized and properly funded for in 2017, including the Mission to Mars.” The new law is the first NASA authorization to pass both houses of Congress since the NASA Authorization Act of 2010. Watch the bill-signing ceremony below:
