Save Our Jobs Update

Worried Space Coast officials appeal to Obama to save NASA jobs, Orlando Sentinel
“County officials are braced for as many as 28,000 direct and indirect job losses when the shuttle program ends either late next year or early in 2011. A presidential panel that recently looked at NASA said the agency’s proposed successor, Ares I, won’t fly before 2017 and that NASA can’t afford a “viable” manned-space program without $3 billion more a year. On Monday, local organizers also announced a letter-writing campaign to remind Obama of his campaign pledge a year ago. Its Web site, website, called SaveSpace.us, is complete with letter templates, a copy of Obama’s August 2008 speech in Titusville, a map of the counties affected by the space program and a list of participating organizations.”
Keith’s note: What I find to be really annoying is how these “save NASA” groups only appear and get active when there’s a risk of budget cuts and layoffs. They regularly cite NASA’s incredible value to the nation, all matter of spinoffs (real and imaginary), and the jobs that will be lost etc. etc. But when there is no looming threat, these groups – and the people they seek to motivate – couldn’t be bothered with making any overt attempt to explain the value of space exploration to a wider audience. Only when jobs are threatened, it would seem, is NASA suddenly such a great value to society.
To be certain, real people are about to lose real jobs and there is no denying the impact this will have on those dedicated workers and the region. Perhaps if these groups and their supporters had kept a steady focus on public education and the value of what NASA does – and possible commercial alternatives (they hire people too) they would not be facing such a situation in the first place. Its not as if these Shuttle layoffs are any big surprise – they been very clearly known to be in the works for a number of years.