TRUMP TO SIGN SPACE POLICY DIRECTIVE TOMORROWBy Marcia Smith | Posted: December 10, 2017 11:04 pm ET | Last Updated: December 10, 2017 11:06 pm ETPresident Trump will sign Space Policy Directive 1 at 3:00 pm tomorrow at a White House ceremony. The directive apparently will make a human return to the lunar surface part of U.S. space policy.
“We will return American astronauts to the moon, not only to leave behind footprints and flags, but to build the foundation we need to send Americans to Mars and beyond,”
Depending on what this is, probably it's politically toothless. Congress would need to authorize and fund.
So; the more things change; the more they...
Constellation or no Constellation: I believe it was very wrong to redirect America away from the Moon after Obama made his - essentially - 'been there; done that' statements. It's one of the few things I wont forgive him for. But since I'm not an American voter; I'm fully aware that my annoyance for that is impotent It is what it is. People like me are 'Space Cadets'. Even if intended to be pejorative - I'd still wear that label with pride...
NASA tells me that -- at the moment at least -- although NASA TV will be at the 3:00 pm ET White House event, the signing is not live, so video won't be available till later. For live coverage, I'm advised that NASA's social medial outlets are the best bet.
Quote from: MATTBLAK on 12/11/2017 10:14 amConstellation or no Constellation: I believe it was very wrong to redirect America away from the Moon after Obama made his - essentially - 'been there; done that' statements. It's one of the few things I wont forgive him for. But since I'm not an American voter; I'm fully aware that my annoyance for that is impotent It is what it is. People like me are 'Space Cadets'. Even if intended to be pejorative - I'd still wear that label with pride...Wrong. The guy you have to blame is named Nixon, not Obama. Nixon is the one that steered the USA away from the Moon, all the way back to LEO. And once the USA was stuck there, courtesy of the space shuttle and the space station sucking the NASA budget dry, there was no real chance of going back into deep space.
Quote from: hektor on 12/11/2017 08:28 amNowhere it is said “to the Moon surface” in this alleged text. You can make the case that having extended stays at the Deep Space Gateway is “returning humans to the Moon”.The inside-DC gossip is that the above has been the crux of an argument between the White House and NASA. NASA has been trying to argue that the Deep Space Gateway (which they may be renaming to put "Moon" into the title) answers the policy directive, but people over in the executive branch are saying "No, we mean the surface of the Moon."I can totally see the NASA perspective on this--administrations come and go, and do they really want to get all worked up on designing a lunar surface architecture when a little over three years from now a different administration could say "Forget that stuff"?
Nowhere it is said “to the Moon surface” in this alleged text. You can make the case that having extended stays at the Deep Space Gateway is “returning humans to the Moon”.
Constellation or no Constellation: I believe it was very wrong to redirect America away from the Moon after Obama made his - essentially - 'been there; done that' statements. It's one of the few things I wont forgive him for.
Wrong. The guy you have to blame is named Nixon, not Obama. Nixon is the one that steered the USA away from the Moon, all the way back to LEO. And once the USA was stuck there, courtesy of the space shuttle and the space station sucking the NASA budget dry, there was no real chance of going back into deep space.
QuoteTRUMP TO SIGN SPACE POLICY DIRECTIVE TOMORROWBy Marcia Smith | Posted: December 10, 2017 11:04 pm ET | Last Updated: December 10, 2017 11:06 pm ETPresident Trump will sign Space Policy Directive 1 at 3:00 pm tomorrow at a White House ceremony. The directive apparently will make a human return to the lunar surface part of U.S. space policy.https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/trump-to-sign-space-policy-directive-tomorrow/Discussion of implications for, and current status of, Bridenstine’s confirmation:http://nasawatch.com/archives/2017/12/confirming-the.html
The inside-DC gossip is that the above has been the crux of an argument between the White House and NASA. NASA has been trying to argue that the Deep Space Gateway (which they may be renaming to put "Moon" into the title) answers the policy directive, but people over in the executive branch are saying "No, we mean the surface of the Moon."I can totally see the NASA perspective on this--administrations come and go, and do they really want to get all worked up on designing a lunar surface architecture when a little over three years from now a different administration could say "Forget that stuff"?
The inside-DC gossip is that the above has been the crux of an argument between the White House and NASA. NASA has been trying to argue that the Deep Space Gateway (which they may be renaming to put "Moon" into the title) answers the policy directive, but people over in the executive branch are saying "No, we mean the surface of the Moon."
The usually "fiscally obsessed" Republicans seemed to have lost their way and with a president who doesn't care about debt, it will be interesting how this will pan out in these unusual times"...