Source: The Washington Times
Obama space summit just the latest faux job creator
When President Obama arrives in Florida today for his space summit, he will bring considerable baggage with him. When running in the primaries to be the Democratic nominee, he promised to cancel the space-shuttle replacement program, known as Constellation, to pay for new education initiatives. As a candidate in the general election, he famously changed course, promising to accelerate Constellation and close the gap between its arrival and the shuttle’s departure from the nation’s space capabilities. His first-year actions started to make good on the promise. Then, with his fiscal 2011 budget request, the president changed course again, proposing cancellation of Constellation, as he had promised in his earlier incarnation. Truly, it must be said that the president has delivered on his promise of change – he changes every year.
The president’s visit clearly is about political damage control in a swing state with a big electoral vote. His cancellation of the Constellation program kills the country’s only shuttle-replacement program, which NASA had structured carefully to minimize the loss of work-force skills, suppliers and infrastructure necessary if we intend to remain the leading space power in the 21st century. In its stead, the administration has taken two steps. First, it announced a new technology initiative, which has the potential to serve the national interest if well implemented. Second, it announced plans to “commercialize” human spaceflight, claiming its policies will produce jobs in entirely new industries. In truth, this second step simply replaces an underfunded procurement program with a different set of contractors.
To continue reading this story: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/15/in-space-no-one-hears-you-flip-flop/