Ted Cruz and NASA: An Evolving Picture
Ted Cruz’s control of Senate science panel triggers some anxiety, McClatchy via Fresno Bee
“Keith Cowing, editor of NASA Watch, a blog that monitors agency activities and offers commentary, said there had been a very strong reaction in the space community to Cruz’s new position. “It’s half-grounded in truth and half in hysteria,” said Cowing, an astrobiologist and former NASA employee. Cruz, meanwhile, is bullish about NASA concentrating on its core mission.”
Cruz says NASA should refocus on ‘core’ mission, end dependence on Russians, Houston Chronicle
“I am encouraged by the progress of both commercial cargo and commercial crew. But we need a continued focus on the stated exploration objectives with maximum efficiency and expedition. One of the great benefits of space exploration, but also commercial crew and commercial cargo, has been the jobs and economic development that have flowed from allowing innovation and the private sector to play a critical role in space. Texas, and the Houston area in particular, has been a tremendous beneficiary of that private sector activity.”
Ted Cruz Supports NASA’s “Core Mission”, earlier post
“One of the great benefits of space exploration…has been jobs…”
Well, that didn’t take long.
Simply stating the obvious. Who would ever challenge that? Why else has NASA chosen to locate itself in every district in every state? JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!
Politics 101.
NASA didn’t chose that. Politicians made those decisions. In order to get Apollo funded President Johnson sliced up the work into as many poliictical districts as needed to get the funding. We are still paying for that mistake.
I suppose I should have included a little less snark. Democracy is a messy business.
Hell we have citizens who fail to see personal benefit of local school taxes if they neither have children (as do I), nor if their’s have graduated. It’s very hard to engender an ‘all together’ attitude.
Excepting highways, of course.
My response was not to you Michael but to Jet Ski .. I agreed with your statement 100%. Politicans know full well that NASA human spaceflight is more about jobs and cost plus contracts to contractors for the campaign financing then anything as nebulus as “exploration”.
Altho this must place me in the group “half-grounded … in hysteria”, I find Cruz’s call that NASA “must refocus our investment on the hard sciences” a direct threat to any activities that studies climate related issues.
By the way,
Climate science is not fluff that NASA is unnecessarily poking its nose into. In NASA’s enabling law:
Sec. 20102. Congressional declaration of policy and purpose
…
(d) Objectives of Aeronautical and Space Activities.–The aeronautical and space activities of the United States shall be conducted so as to contribute materially to one or more of the following objectives:
(1) The expansion of human knowledge of the Earth and of phenomena in the atmosphere and space.
I reckon that sure encompasses studying the climate and its changes.
The keyword is “expansion”. I can read this as suggesting nasa should not be involved in obtaining “knowledge of the Earth and of phenomena in the atmosphere and space”, but should “expand” that knowledge obtained, either by geophysicists, or by climatologists, to somewhere beyond the earth and space. I guess that that somewhere beyond would be planets, stars, galaxies and the universe as a whole.
That is a mighty narrow reading! And not what was intended, and not a what was ever done.
Another part of the Space Act:
(5) NASA should assume a leadership role in a cooperative international Earth observations and research effort to address key research issues associated with climate change and its impacts on the Earth system.
Indeed it is a rather narrow reading of the law you quoted, but there is nothing wrong about this reading and we are in no position second guessing what the law intends.
As to the other statement you quoted from the space act, I really don’t know what this leadership role is in “cooperative international Earth observations and research effort to address key research issues associated with climate change and its impacts on the Earth system”,
given that congress forbids NASA from talking to some countries that are major players (hint China) in such kind of research, while other government agencies (hint: DOD) have no trouble with.
“we are in no position second guessing what the law intends.”
We are ALL in a position to second guess what the law intends. That is called citizenship.
What it means is straightforward. When it comes to to observation and addressing research on climate change, the NASA should be first and foremost in doing it. Both the observation, research and analysis is by the very fact of being global is an international program, of which the US by dint of its massive technical, scientific, and economic power takes the leadership role. That is what make the US exceptional in this and many other ways. Something to be proud of.
You are not including the Objectives. “The aeronautical and space activities of the United States shall be conducted so as to contribute materially” It clearly states the Federal Government shall conduct space activies. What IS one of the objectives the federal governments space activities expand knowledge. So the Feds are ordering space activites to be conducted with an express purpose to expand the knowledge THROUGH those space activities.. .Pretty freakin’ clear and straight forward especially if viewed in the context of the entire document AND it’s ammendments that were added after the original Space Act of 1958.
You are assuming that Mr. Cruz is actually familiar with the text you quote. I’m guessing he’s more enamored with a shiny gavel breaking heads as it [figuratively] moves a right wing agenda; see Mr. Issa for recent history in this regard.
And it’s his right. The people elected him.
Alot of people on this site agreed that he was against commercial crew and cargo yet that does not seem to be the case.
I Do not know much about this Cruz guy’s views but to label him before we get to see what he actually does is a mistake. Actions speak louder than words.
Well, lets look to what he has done in the past:
http://www.scientificameric…
A lot of people will underestimate him as a “dumb cowboy Texan.” Not wise – Cruz graduated cum laude from Princeton (BA, public policy) and magna cum laude from Harvard Law. Also a debate champion. He will be a power to be reckoned with in the Senate.
I am under no delusions that Cruz is an intellectual lightweight. Unfortunately he is also ideologically driven and unlikely to be persuaded by such trivial things as logic and observation to change his viewpoint, which appears to be that the oncoming global clambake is just a leftist conspiracy to attack his friends in the fossil fuel industry. Moreover, he and the Republican Party will be in power in Congress, at least until some other party gets its act together. The only way for us to influence the course of events, if indeed it is possible, may be the usual combination of legalized bribery by those who have money and grassroots activism by those who don’t.
Quote from Senator Cruz: “You always have to be worried about something that is considered a so-called scientific theory that fits every scenario. Climate change, as they have defined it, can never be disproved, because whether it gets hotter or whether it gets colder, whatever happens, they’ll say, well, it’s changing, so it proves our theory.”
Just to be clear, this demonstrates that Cruz does not understand what science actually is. He believes that whether climate change is a threat to the world is something he and the other members of Congress can decide by voting on it. If science doesn’t agree with what he belives for political reasons, then the science has to go.
That said, his primary goal, like all politicians, is to get elected, and if we can convince him that doing the right thing (i.e. reducing the cost of human spaceflight, allowing NASA to produce useful science and technology) is the best way to get elected, he will do it.
I’m really don’t believe in Cruz’s promises. To many of us here in central and
south Texas, he is such a loudmouth. To him, the only “Real Americans” are those in his Tea Party voting block. I’ve seen him talk many times and my impression of him is that he is so so narrow-minded on american issues.
BUT, if he delivers the goods in supporting (political leadership & money)NASA’s science & exploration missions, helps NASA to accelerate current decades and decades long process of planning and doing space missions to the moon, Mars, and the outer planets; then yes, I’ll support the man.
Having said the above, I still repeat my negative comment on previous topics involving congressional support of NASA. RAH RAH RAH, go team go, cut the budget and work with what you get. It’s been like this ever since the Nixon administration.
Yes we did the shuttle and now ISS, but I agree with our original lunar project workers, we are better than that.
I wish I could say the same, but I can’t. And I’m about as big on space as anyone here.
But the country has larger issues than space.
I’ve never been a single-issue voter. One simple example with far-reaching implications: a sensible energy policy would reduce our need for oil (and the day will come when we kick our selves for burning this precious resource); lower oil needs will mean we don’t give a damn about the mid east and we pull out; and that means a big bite out of the terrorism problem world-wide (based on various statements of principles by Al Qida and others).
We are a strong, inventive people with incredible wealth, a country running into the ground by bad policy left and right. Our day in space will come.
Now. Where’s the keys to my Tahoe?
Buy a Tesla
Only if you have a solar array or else buy renewable credits (like some power companies offer), or else you’re running it on coal or nuclear waste.
Yes but very little coal electric engines are very effient.
Besides SpaceX and Tesla (and formerly Paypal) Elan Musk also owns Solar City, the US’s largest installer of solar panels. Talk about hitting all the bases.
I own shares in two, and await the third. The gigafactory and hyperloop are all part of an integrated plan by musk to move us to a renewably powered world, and extend us to a multi-planet species.
I miss-phrased that. What I meant to say was that unless you take steps to assure that the Tesla is powered by renewable energy it will be powered by nasty stuff. Power companies generate overnight electricity mostly with coal and nuclear fired plants. Thus it runs from a nasty air, water, land polluter, or by creating plutonium, radioiodine, radiocesium, etc.
Power it with wind, solar, hydro etc., great. Power it with radiostrontium or acid rain, I prefer not.
Agree
Of course the beauty of the electric car is it can run off most any power source. I still think we should have electric lanes on highways(slot cars lol) that power your car for a fee. You want the “slot “attachment with your hybrid or not.
I recall the hunt for the perfect transmission. Lol the obvious answer is the perfect transmission is the electric motor.
Elon is building his battery gigga factory. That’s an important step for electric cars and roof top solar.
Elon gives me hope!
Shame with the cost of oil low at the moment, that we don’t triple our efforts to need it less.
Image roads with no power lines around because the electric slot in the road both powers your car and transports your energy to and from your home or business to other locations.
Ride the power internet! 🙂
I would if it had the same amount of room. And oddly I do need to buy a new car. But Tesla alas isn’t on the list. Besides with the range it has, I’d get stuck out in the Glades for sure:-)
I just put a rebuild engine in a 97 ford escort wagon. With the drop in gas, loving driving around for next to nothing 🙂
I agree on the energy part. Just keep in mind that when the country was tearing itself apart with viet nam and race riots, we still continued with our space program, and triumphed.
Many critics state that we have no business out in outer space. The same type of critics that said that the trans continental railroad was a waste of time because there’s nothing out west other than savages and wilderness. Hmm, 50 United States and still going, even with our political problems.
Mike, I respect your comments; but as a society we cannot take a “wait for tomorrow” approach to prosper as a nation. To do so is a waste of time, energy, and creative thinking. I am happy that private industry is taking a stronger role in space exploration.
Finally, on you comment of “bad policy”, I fear that our new Repunlican controlled congress will take us down a path of warmongering-jingoistic adventures. If this continues, we will end up like the ancient Roman Empire: beaten, broke, demoralized, ….destroyed from within.
Thanks for the kind words, I’d like see more of your comments here [and elsewhere]. You are right about ‘tearing ourselves apart’- I lived through those times, and lived many in the streets carrying signs. But it’s exactly what I meant- even so we had the will of a Congress willing to actually get some work done. And I know you’ve not forgotten how important the role of the USSR was in our won space race.
My fears on congressional mischief making echo yours. They will find a way to make the President accept some awfully bitter pills, I fear.
If you like what’s happening in Kansas, just wait– lower taxes means more money!