Obama Administration's New Space Policy Meets with Mixed Reaction

The Obama Administration's new National Space Policy -- which emphasizes international cooperation and commercial development -- has received decidedly mixed reviews, with supporters hailing it as visionary and opponents claiming that it cedes American leadership in the Final Frontier.

"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," said Lou Friedman, co-founder of The Planetary Society. "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."

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) was not quite as impressed:

"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," Hatch said in a statement.

"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."

Hatch represents a state that stands to lose thousands of jobs under Obama's space proposals, which seems to cancel NASA's Constellation lunar program and replace it with privately-developed rockets and spacecraft. The Administration has also abandoned the goal of returning humans to the moon by 2020.

The National Space Policy, released on Monday, covers not only NASA but the nation's other civilian and military space programs. It emphasizes international cooperation and the commercialization of space operations, while leaving the United States open to international treaties to control space armaments.

Although generally supportive of the new policy, the Colorado-based Space Foundation echoed Hatch in its concern over delays in sending American astronauts on missions to the moon and asteroids.

"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," it said in a statement.

"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.

"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 Space Foundation also found some positive elements of the plan as well:

"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."

The Secure World Foundation saluted the new policy as "a highly pragmatic approach to the international space regime that substantially enhances the long-term national security interests of the United States in space," the foundation said in a statement.

"With the end of the Cold War and rapid spread of globalization, more of humanity is seeking to obtain the security, environmental and socioeconomic benefits that can be provided by space systems," said Foundation President Cynda Collins Arsenault. "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 added.

Some observers see the Administration's approach to space as a return to policies that were implemented under previous presidents.

"The George W. Bush administration took the United States in a radically different direction," said Laura Grego of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "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."

"National Space Policy", The White House

Louis Friedman, "Space Advocacy: New National Space Policy", The Planetary Society

Orrin Hatch, "Hatch Blasts President's New National Space Policy," Sen. Orrin Hatch's Office

"Space Foundation Statement on New U.S. National Space Policy," The Space Foundation

Secure World Foundation, "Secure World Foundation Examines New National Policy", Newswise