The 2024 presidential election is finally over. Donald Trump was reelected by voters.
This requires a review of space policy. Here are some suggestions that you may find helpful.
First, President Trump should promptly nominate a new NASA administrator. Biden's nominee, Bill Nelson, was nominated and confirmed by May 2021. However, his predecessor, Jim Bridenstine, was nominated in September 2017 and was not confirmed until April 2018. Given the challenges facing NASA and its programs, there is an urgent need to install a new administrator. so that he or she can get to work on dealing with them.
The new NASA administrator will need to have political chops, but not necessarily a former politician like the past two. Given NASA's reliance on commercial space, he or she must have business experience. Candidates should be familiar with space policy issues, but do not necessarily have a technical background.
The new administrator will need to investigate how the agency operates, with the goal of figuring out why most of the agency's major projects take longer and cost more than expected. For example, international space station, james webb space telescope, mars sample return mission and viper probe. The new NASA administrator needs help from the proposed Government Efficiency Committee Led by Elon Musk.
The new administrator must address the following: artemis program Return astronauts to the moon and then Mars. Artemis II, which will fly astronauts around the moon, and Artemis III, which will land people on the moon, are scheduled for 2025 and 2026, respectively, but those dates are highly doubtful.
Recently, NASA revealed that it had discovered the cause of the concerning erosion of the Orion heat shield that occurred during the Artemis I flight. However, the space agency The cause was not discloseda troubling lack of transparency. The cause and solution to the heat shield anomaly could impact the Artemis II mission schedule. New NASA administrators need to be more proactive about such issues.
and SpaceX Super Heavy successfully capturedNASA is increasingly optimistic about Starship's ability to serve as a lunar lander for Artemis' return to the moon. According to Space Flight Now, SpaceX plans to begin in-orbit refueling tests in March 2025, an important milestone in developing the superrocket as a deep space vehicle. The test campaign is scheduled to end around the summer of 2025.
The lunar lander version of Starship still needs to perform an unmanned lunar landing before NASA allows it to carry astronauts to the moon. As suggested by Ars TechnicaA more realistic date for the next human moon landing is late 2028.
The Federal Aviation Administration is created regulatory hurdles Opposed the Starship test program and threatened to cause unacceptable delays to the Artemis program in addition to the usual technical and financial obstacles. Something needs to be done to speed up this process, especially as China appears to be making progress. Unique version of starship rocket. The idea that China would send NASA back to the moon because of bureaucracy is unthinkable.
It might be a good idea to overhaul the Artemis program, perhaps eliminating the Space Launch System and relying more on commercial systems like Starship.
commercial crew It's another troubled NASA program, but while SpaceX's Crew Dragon is doing very well, it also flies astronauts to and from the International Space Station and also conducts commercial missions such as I am doing it. Polaris Dawnthe same cannot be said about the Boeing Starliner.
Boeing is considering selling its space division. including star liner. Could another company, such as Blue Origin, repair the malfunctioning spacecraft and turn it into a viable replacement for Crew Dragon? Should NASA look for other alternatives, like a manned version? dream chaser?Either way, the space agency needs at least two ways to get astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit.
What to do with the planned lunar surface probe “VIPER'' is an issue that NASA needs to decide as soon as possible. the current, space agency is waiting Its fate will not be decided until “early next year.'' Putting a rover on the moon would require partnering with a commercial company or getting more funding from Congress. Finding water is important for long-term lunar exploration.
We have a chance for a reset that will enable a future in space for America and the world. All we have to do is reach out and receive it.
Mark R. Whittington writes,Why is it difficult to return to the moon?” Similarly “To the moon, Mars and beyond”, and more recently”Why will America return to the moon?” He blogs at: Karma John's Corner.
