Mixed Reactions to New National Space Policy

Some initial reactions to President Barack Obama’s new National Space Policy from The Space Foundation, Aerospace Industries Association, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, The Planetary Society’s Lou Friedman, Union of Concerned Scientists, and Secure World Foundation.

THE SPACE FOUNDATION

The Space Foundation today welcomed the release of the new U.S. National Space Policy as “an important milestone in furthering national and international discussions about the future direction of the United States in space.”

“Although there are some inconsistencies and areas of concern, largely the new U.S. National Space Policy provides a positive framework that will serve as an important milestone in furthering national and international discussions about the future direction of the United States in space,” said Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Elliot H. Pulham.

“The Space Foundation is particularly gratified with the new policy’s emphasis on international cooperation in space, which is essential to bringing the benefits of space to the greatest number of people on the planet,” Pulham said.

Among the positive aspects of the policy, the Space Foundation noted the following:

• The commitment to continue the operation of the International Space Station through 2020 is an important commitment to realizing the scientific benefits of this large, multinational investment.
• The emphasis on Space Situational Awareness, knowledge and management of the space environment, and commitment to freedom of operation in space is an important fundamental recognition of one of the biggest challenges we face in space.
• The recognition that space nuclear propulsion and space nuclear power have key roles to play in future human exploration beyond Earth’s orbit opens the door to critical thinking, research and development in this promising arena.

Also promising is the commitment of the new policy to space commerce. “The full engagement of the administration, especially the early inclusion of the U.S. Department of Commerce, are very positive signs that U.S. space companies may be unshackled and once again allowed to compete in the international marketplace,” Pulham said. “A concrete plan for ITAR reform and export compliance modernization must quickly follow, and we are pleased to be supporting the administration in that effort.”

There are, however, concerns with some provisions of the new policy:

• To be truly beneficial, international cooperation in space would benefit from including India and China, two of the most important space faring nations. Constructive engagement with the two most populous nations on the planet is fundamentally desirable.
• The policy provision for developing and retaining space professionals, while admirable, rings hollow so long as the administration’s plans for NASA continue to put thousands of American space professionals out of work.
• The policy would defer human exploration of space beyond low Earth orbit for 15 years — to 2025, essentially ceding U.S. leadership in human space exploration.

“Clearly there is a lot of detail in this plan, and it will take some time to digest it fully,” Pulham said. “With a mission ‘to vigorously advance space endeavors to inspire, enable, and propel humanity,’ we certainly find much of the language in the policy encouraging.

“Nonetheless, it is the implementation of the policy that will matter most. Issues from global earth observation, to access to space, to freedom of operation in space, should be resolved affirmatively as the policy suggests. This requires financial resources — a factor not sufficiently addressed in the policy.”

U.S. SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R-UT)

“The Administration is yet again trying to sell this country a failed space policy that irrevocably diminishes our central role in space exploration. The President says he is committed to ‘reinvigorating U.S. leadership in space,’ but what he’s proposing makes us more dependent on Russia and other nations. That’s not how I would define leadership.

“Furthermore, it’s hard to understand how the President is committed to ‘a robust and competitive industrial base,’ when he’s dismantling a proven and effective space program that has propelled our nation to tremendous heights. In fact, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has taken extraordinary steps to terminate Project Constellation without Congressional approval, and contrary to the law. I urge the President to rethink this flawed policy, because while this might be a new direction for manned space flight, it’s a direction we don’t want to take.”

AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION

AIA believes the new National Space Policy takes important steps needed to maintain our global leadership in space and ensure continued competitiveness and innovation.

AIA has advocated for strengthened interagency partnerships and is pleased that the new policy includes similar language.

We strongly support calls in the policy to strengthen U.S. space leadership and to enhance international cooperation. In order to fully realize U.S. industry’s potential in the global space market, it’s critical that our nation take the steps needed to modernize an outdated export control system so that our industry can compete on a level playing field abroad.

AIA believes that the policy’s emphasis on retaining space professionals and improving space professional development is an important investment in our workforce. In addition, as the association that led the effort to form the government-industry Joint Space Cost Council, AIA is pleased that the policy highlights the importance of improving acquisition through enhancements in cost estimating.

Finally, AIA supports robust language in the new policy that seeks to preserve the space environment, increase space situational awareness and enhance space protection. Space debris threatens our nation’s spacefarers and our critical space infrastructure, and – unless remediated – will restrict our efforts to increase the commercialization of space.

National space policies set the official tone across our government on the space initiatives we pursue as a nation. This is critical, because with billions of dollars spent on space operations throughout a myriad of U.S. agencies, it’s absolutely necessary that the administration coordinate and craft national policy. That said, it’s important that policy be backed by stable funding as well as a detailed national strategy that helps ensure that policies are carried out.

LOU FRIEDMAN, THE PLANETARY SOCIETY

“The new National Space Policy issued today by the White House is a very welcome commitment for a strong and exciting U.S. space program. The ‘bold new approach for human and robotic exploration of the solar system’ bodes well for the future, as does the strong support for expanded international cooperation to meet greater objectives in space science, exploration and observing Earth from space.”

LAURA GREGO
SENIOR SCIENTIST, GLOBAL SECURITY PROGRAM
UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS

“From what we’ve heard, the Obama administration has decided to return to policies that were in place during the Carter, Reagan, Bush senior and Clinton years. The National Space Policy of each of those administrations supported the right of all nations to use space peacefully and without interference. And all of those administrations viewed arms control agreements as useful tools to ensure that right.

“The George W. Bush administration took the United States in a radically different direction. It essentially embraced a unilateral approach to space security, which was in keeping with its overall foreign policy. It asserted that the right to use space without interference was a U.S. right, and put strict limits on arms control.

“By contrast, we expect the Obama administration’s space policy to be open to new arms control agreements and cooperative solutions to security problems. That’s critically important. There is no way we can achieve lasting space security independently. We are going to have to coordinate and cooperate with other spacefaring nations. That’s the nature of space.

“We also expect the new policy to do a better job than the last one balancing military, civil, and commercial uses of space. The Bush administration overemphasized military policy, and that has had significant negative consequences. Overly broad export controls over the last decade have held back our domestic space industry in international competition. And they also have hampered the United States’ ability to cooperate with other countries on civil space projects.”

SECURE WORLD FOUNDATION

President Obama has issued the administration’s new National Space Policy, a far-reaching directive designed to bolster U.S. leadership in space and maintain space as a secure, peaceful and vibrant environment for the benefit of all nations.

Long expected, the new policy calls for greater international cooperation in outer space activities and opens the door for potential international agreements to enhance the sustainability and stability of outer space. Furthermore, it calls for shared funding and expertise on major space projects for the benefit of all peoples and for exchanging data about space debris and other hazards to improve the safety of space operations.

Secure World Foundation (SWF) salutes President Obama’s new National Space Policy. The Administration’s policy reflects a highly pragmatic approach to the international space regime that substantially enhances the long-term national security interests of the United States in space.

Provide for a better future

“With the end of the Cold War and rapid spread of globalization,” said Cynda Collins Arsenault, President of Secure World Foundation, “more of humanity is seeking to obtain the security, environmental and socioeconomic benefits that can be provided by space systems. International cooperation has been — and will continue to be – necessary to establish and sustain these benefits.”

“As the benefits of space activities expand and improve, keeping space available for peaceful activities will become ever more important,” Arsenault said.

Ray Williamson, SWF’s Executive Director, said that the stage has now been set for a new era in which the nations can develop policies, design and implement best operational space practices and establish comprehensive cooperative institutions that will provide for a better future.

“It is especially important that the Administration pursue environmental issues such as long-term space sustainability, and tackle the collective problems of space debris and radio frequency interference. As the United States pursues cooperation, it will also be important to find ways to involve Russia, China, and India in the effort,” Williamson said.

The policy also acknowledges the changed role of commercial and international space actors, which demonstrates a clear understanding of the changed realities of operating in the global space commons.