Bush may propose more space spending.
Journalists are reporting that President Bush will use the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers flight to announce a new commitment to the space program. (*) I’m a strong supporter of revitalization. (†)
Bush may indeed be readying a major policy proposal. He might be about to call for new research into propulsion technologies, for a permanent lunar base, for a Mars mission, and for a space plane. He may state his support for a national aerospace policy that rejuvenates a lagging, critically important industry. I hope he does. More likely, however, Bush will go through the motions for political purposes while proposing little new spending.
America should be spending far more on her space program. Fifty billion dollars per year might not be enough. Public spending is the only way to jumpstart our society so that we may become a space-faring nation.
No Democrat since John F. Kennedy can apparently be bothered to do more than the obligatory posturing on this issue.
I would like to see a new political party, with one of its main planks being a truly 21st century space program that challenges either the Republican or Democratic Parties for major-party status.
Update: 5 December 2003. Buzz Aldrin suggests building a platform at L-1, a location between the Earth and the Moon. (‡) L-1 is a low-gravity area from which far-ranging missions could be conveniently launched. (§)