Mark Kelly, a former NASA
astronaut, the commander of the last flight of the space shuttle
Endeavour, and the husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, offered
the case for continuing the course of President Obama’s space policy in a recent piece in Florida Today. Like Gaul, his defense of the Obama space program was divided into three parts.
First, he touted a $500 million plan to upgrade launch facilities at the Kennedy Space Center. Part of this seems to be a play for Florida voters, as he states that this would have the effect of “--creating new jobs to upgrade Kennedy Space Center.” Kelly did not touch upon how these upgrades would facilitate NASA launch operations.
Second, Kelly touched upon the development of the Orion Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle and the heavy lift Space Launch System. He states that this new space craft would enable American astronauts to “--to go beyond Earth’s orbit to the moon, asteroids and beyond” and coincidentally create jobs at the Kennedy Space Center. He does not mention that the Obama administration initially resisted the early development of the Orion and the SLS, these being a congressional mandate.
Finally, Kelly touts the development of the Kennedy Space Center as a commercial space port, launching spacecraft such as the SpaceX Dragon, which recently delivered supplies to the International Space Station and returned cargo to Earth. Again, Kelly touts the jobs this would create in Florida.
The one major critique of Kelly’s defense of the president’s space program is that it seems to be narrowly focused on its capacity to create jobs in Florida, considered a swing state, albeit one that seems to be, as of this writing, firmly in Mitt Romney’s column. NASA is a national space agency whose benefits should be judged by how much the effect the entire United States and not just one state. As such, Kelly’s argument seems to be undermined as it is too nakedly political.
First, he touted a $500 million plan to upgrade launch facilities at the Kennedy Space Center. Part of this seems to be a play for Florida voters, as he states that this would have the effect of “--creating new jobs to upgrade Kennedy Space Center.” Kelly did not touch upon how these upgrades would facilitate NASA launch operations.
Second, Kelly touched upon the development of the Orion Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle and the heavy lift Space Launch System. He states that this new space craft would enable American astronauts to “--to go beyond Earth’s orbit to the moon, asteroids and beyond” and coincidentally create jobs at the Kennedy Space Center. He does not mention that the Obama administration initially resisted the early development of the Orion and the SLS, these being a congressional mandate.
Finally, Kelly touts the development of the Kennedy Space Center as a commercial space port, launching spacecraft such as the SpaceX Dragon, which recently delivered supplies to the International Space Station and returned cargo to Earth. Again, Kelly touts the jobs this would create in Florida.
The one major critique of Kelly’s defense of the president’s space program is that it seems to be narrowly focused on its capacity to create jobs in Florida, considered a swing state, albeit one that seems to be, as of this writing, firmly in Mitt Romney’s column. NASA is a national space agency whose benefits should be judged by how much the effect the entire United States and not just one state. As such, Kelly’s argument seems to be undermined as it is too nakedly political.
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