Checking in on Obama's Campaign Promises on Space

By Keith Cowing on August 31, 2009 6:13 PM

Barack Obama Campaign Promise No. 345: Enhance earth mapping, PolitiFact.com

"In its Fiscal Year 2010 proposed budget, the Obama administration sought $120.6 million for LDCM through NASA accounts and $40.2 million through USGS accounts. Between July 14, 2009, and July 17, 2009, a preliminary design review was held in Linthicum, Md. NASA described the event as "successful" -- an early milestone for the program. LDCM won't be ready to launch for a few years, but the promise here was simply to "support" the program. The Obama administration has done that seeking funding for it. We consider it a Promise Kept."

Use the private sector to improve spaceflight: No action

Support human mission to moon by 2020: No action

Promises about Space on the Obameter, PolitiFact.com

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7 Comments

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Edward Ellegood | August 31, 2009 7:09 PM | Reply

The "Obameter" update is incomplete and the site administrators (St. Pete Times) are currently researching/validating progress on the blank items. Most of the blank items are "in the works" and a couple others are "promises kept". Some are awaiting Augustine Panel decisions.

Phafff! | August 31, 2009 10:50 PM | Reply

I keep telling people we need to name our rocket Chrysler and say it's being built by the UAW.

Skyjim | September 1, 2009 4:51 AM | Reply

Well, Chrysler DID manufacture Saturn l and lB first stages!

Right now I wouldn't mind having a domestically-sourced kerosene burner in that thrust range available... ;-)

Seriously, this is going to be a long slog, but Augustine will make the 2020 lunar goal moot by providing cover for its abandonment. If COTS succeeds with Obama's support, I'd have to give a "kept" on that one. Hopefully we come out of this with a few scraps of actual exploration beyond LEO in the works, but I'm not very optimistic. Still phoning and writing everybody I can think of, though!

Jim

Gene | September 1, 2009 9:30 AM | Reply

@ Phaffff:

Chrysler used to make rockets...

Stu Young | September 1, 2009 9:35 AM | Reply

@Phaff: there's certainly precedent for your idea. Chrysler built the 1st stage of the Saturn I variants.

OT: The other day, I was looking up the specs on the 1966 Boeing proposal called the Saturn INT-13. There were two versions. The cheaper, lower-powered version was a Saturn IB with 2 production Titan 5-segment SRBs. It could have put 33,000 kg. in LEO (2,500 more than the Shuttle) for $49 million per launch, in 1985 dollars.

Come to think of it, I never should have sold our family's '66 Mustang.

Hindsight is a mother.

Sean Lyons | September 1, 2009 2:21 PM | Reply

This seems to follow the common party line. Gore was a big one for pushing Earth observations. We need to understand what is going on with our own planet.

I can certainly follow this, but don't you think it will be easier to understand how our own planet works, if we also look at other planets and celestial bodies to compare against? I would love to see a continuous data set kept for lots of things, but I would hate to see so many other things just limp along while you worry ONLY about one tiny little idea. Predicting Hurricanes, weather patterns, and other things going on with the Earth is important, but so is providing serious motivation for a long term future.

LunaCI | September 1, 2009 7:23 PM | Reply

So someone else -has- read that campaign space plan.. ;)

I reference it a fair deal, but don't see it brought up elsewhere much if at all. I think it's a pretty important and unusual document that give a strong idea of where Obama's going with space.

The two quotes about private space probably being the most significant: "amplify NASA's reach" with the private sector and "we must unleash the genius of private enterprise to secure the United States' leadership in space."

Has anyone else read it? Anything else people find significant in there?

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=28880