The conference was very interesting, and I hope useful in the longer run, and I want to thank the Cornhuskers for their hospitality. Stayed at a very nice hotel downtown (Cornhusker Marriott) that would have been at least three benjamins a night in DC, for only one. I didn’t blog it yesterday because I was busy finalizing my own talk on Civil Reserve Space Fleet, Space Guard, and my three rules of space policy which are:
Rule 1: Space is not important. Over the fold for the other two:
Rule 2: Space is not important.
Rule 3: Space is not important.
It’s kind of like the three rules of real estate. If you don’t understand the rules, you will scratch your head until it’s all bloody and infected before you’ll figure out what the solons in Washington are up to. Once you do understand it, about seventy, maybe eighty percent of it will make perfect sense, in its own perverse way. The assembled space lawyers to which I imparted this invaluable information were surprised, but later thanked me for the enlightenment. Some of them anyway.
Anyway, off to the airport in Omaha, and then winging back to the (not so) Golden State.
(Update from my phone, which doesn’t seem to have square brackets)
On the plane from Dallas to LA.
[Update, home from Nebraska]
Just to clarify, when I say “space,” I mean human spaceflight.
Sadly, I’m sure many people will read the rules and think they are your personal conviction rather than observation.
I agree 100 percent. It always finishes in the bottom in most polls on the importance of different political issues.
Now the next stage is to recognize NASA is not important.
Its relationship to the develop of space commerce such be no different the relationship of NOAA to ocean commerce and development.
That should read “should be no different then”
1. Space is not important, until a big rock, then it’s all important.
2. Space is not important, until we begin to include it in our sphere of economic activity by settling it.
3. Space is not important, because humans are not important.
Importance is a choice.
Well, that it didn’t take long for Matula to prove my thesis.
Space is not important for gooberment to dominate. I can only attribute the current DC regime not totally messing up space policy to it not being important to them. Space is important for the long term of humanity.
I will not respond to the troll….
The problem with Sputnik and the U.S. response (both Apollo and the OST) was that it provided a model for heavy government involvement in space. And a belief among space advocates that government should take the lead in the exploration of space. In truth neither should be in the critical path to space development.
Space is not important because it is too abstract for politicos to understand.
This can be a problem but it can also be a blessing. Not important enough to help but not important enough to squash either.
Slight correction: Certain uses of space are important to one part of the US government: Recon, GPS, and military communications are very important to the military and intelligence communities, and they have had unimpeded access to necessary funding continuously from 1954. Is there anybody in the US military under the rank of major left who has fought a war without GPS-enabled PGMs?
NASA was a PR ploy by Ike in response to Sputnik and was expected to survive off of marginal capabilities spun out o0f military programs. JFK turned it into a consolation prize for LBJ, who realized it could be used as the Marshall Plan for the Confederacy. The very fact that JFK let LBJ have NASA is evidence that he didn’t think it was important. Since Apollo, it’s been a minor conduit for pork and only as important as the jobs it creates.
Defense-intel space is still important to the US government. It’s NASA and commercial space that isn’t important.
G’day,
How about posting your talk on Civil Reserve Space Fleet, Space Guard? I’m sure we will be interested.
ta
Ralph
NOAA also has found space handy for weather observation. It’s important to them.
The consideration of space for commerce is apparently not an infrastructure that needs improvement. Not that I’m pushing for government to get involved as much as get out of the way.
Space is not important because there is no Congressional district or Senate seat to vote for it.
I once noted that the Space Station (before it was ISS) was just another NASA Research Center. This was a shock to those listening as they saw it as a space vehicle.
My thinking did not go far enough to note that it had no voters in its district.
Pardon me: to say that space is not important is nonsense or, at best, it is an improper synecdoche.
Space is not only very important, it is essential to the US.
What has become progressively more irrelevant is human spaceflight: as many have pointed out, that is the “jobs program” component of US space activities.
re: Civil Reserve Space Fleet, Space Guard
I too would be interested in hearing about this. I’ve always thought that something like the Civil Reserve Air Fleet would be a logical thing to do, and it would quiet down those in Congress who say that the government has to own it’s own transportation system (like SLS) instead of buying existing systems.
My thinking did not go far enough to note that it had no voters in its district.
Actually, the astronauts do get to vote via the Harris County Clerk’s voting system, but I understand that’s hardly changing your point. 2 to 4 extra votes is hardly a constituency.
I see Drudge is pushing a Politico op-ed about NASA getting budget for a moon mission. It’s sad that while I agree that the funding is excessive, particularly at this time; I can’t help but notice that while mocking complaints that Obama was cancelling the space program, the moon mission does remain cancelled.
Chuck Schumer:
You don’t mess with New York
The smug. It burns.
1) Space has no congressional district.
2) Space has no pathetic savages that need to be civilized or conversely protected from civilization and the exploitation of evil corporations.
3) Space has no cute fuzzy animals to protect.
4) Space does have resources we can use, but which are more expensive to recover than just about anything on Earth. It is far less expensive to go fight wars in third world countries to get our resources here than to go out there to get them… or so we keep telling ourselves, even though we’ve spent a thousand times more money on our wars than we ever have in space.
Let’s make a distinction here. Space assets are important; even the most Luddite and muleheaded of politicos can see that; without space assets no GPS, no satellite TV, much more expensive long-distance phone and much worse weather forecasting. However, none of that needs humans in space or on any other rock but this one.
Space isn’t important (by some definitions) because it takes too long to do anything – in particular, longer than a Congressional or presidential term (or equivalent in other countries). Of course, come the big rock with our name on it every single one of those politicians will claim they’ve said space was important, all along. It’s not just big rocks, either; a sufficiently big CME or a gamma-ray burst that happens to be aimed at Earth will be quite enough of a problem. And the only defense against either of those is not to be there when it happens – which also applies to something like Yellowstone letting rip or a sudden-onset Ice Age, or for that matter a global thermonuclear war (which is still possible).
Space is essential for the survival of humanity – but not for the survival of any Congressman’s job. Which is why space ought to be nothing to do with government with the possible exception of X prizes.
Fletcher Christian Says:
“Space isn’t important (by some definitions) because it takes too long to do anything – in particular, longer than a Congressional or presidential term (or equivalent in other countries).”
Ding. Ding. Ding.
Politicians don’t like things they wont be around to take credit for.
In summary… you can’t leave space up to the politicians. If only space could be free of politics… poli.tics… many blood sucking bugs… hmm, seems appropriate.