Biologist, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Biologist and Payload integrator, Editor of NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com, Lapsed climber, Explorer, Synaesthete, Former Challenger Center board member...

17 replies on “Trump's NASA Infomercial – Not Bad – For A First Episode”

  3. I have to say, that was excellent. Downright inspirational. I really liked the reliance on actual footage and serious music, not slick animations and technopop. I know that Trump was reading off a teleprompter (who wouldn’t for an address like this), but he sounded articulate and really interested in space science.

  4. I hate to be the only dissenter here, but if you take out the JWST portion, which this administration had absolutely nothing to do with, then you have the same old, NASA resting on its Laurels. Nothing new, nothing inspirational to younger people, and nothing showing a clear, attainable and unbiased path into the future.

    1. I’m not so sure. NASA’s direction is decided by the President. Trump is showing some leadership here for the first time in at least 8 years.

      1. Do you really believe either his script or the content of this was in any way his creation? Me thinks not. That would require a modicum of historical understanding which I am not confident he has.

        1. If the president says something people do listen. We got a lot of crickets about space from previous administrations.

  5. At least its better than the infomercials on space that the Obama and Bush Administrations put out 🙂

  6. Lots of hoopla in this presentation, I’m getting tired of so much focus on the past (Apollo was amazing but c’mon you guys let’s move on into the 21st century). I find the grandstanding depressing when considering education cuts, hiring freeze, plans to cut benefits, etc. and other depressing posts on NW.

    1. C’mon, although there was a lot of Apollo footage here, the emphasis on the Hubble Far Field was clearly apparent. Trump is right, this one picture totally revolutionized the understanding of our place in the cosmos. I have never seen a President who appreciated these type of tremendous but less publicized accomplishments.

      1. The Hubble Deep Field was taken in 1995. I think the comment about getting into the 21st century still holds.

        1. I know this is old news, but it still shows an appreciation of what exploration is all about. It’s not all geared towards putting humans back on the Moon or planting a flag on Mars. It is more about furthering our understanding of the cosmos.

    2. Still, it’s not bad coming from an actual sitting President. Even more impressive is he did this in his 2nd month in office. He had to harken back to past achievements like Apollo, Shuttle and Hubble. What was he going to do, hail the achievements of the 35 Billion dollar rocket to nowhere SLS?

  7. I agree. But the thing I found most remarkable was the emphasis on scientific discovery. It wasn’t about flags and footprints, but the emphasis on profound understanding of the cosmos. I am not a Trump supporter, but I have to give him kudos for this excellent address.

  8. Looks to me like this is the NASA segment of the Joint Address to Congress that had to be trimmed down to “American footprints on distant worlds are not too big to dream.” because they wanted to limit the total time to 1 hour.

  9. “We are a nation of problem solvers.” That is the greatest compliment that anyone can bestow. This statement epitomizes the American spirit. Again, I don’t agree with this Administration on many issues, but an acknowledgement of what makes us truly exceptional goes a long way.

  10. And NASA has done in the last twenty years would be similarly impressive to the average person on the street? On the other hand, that might be the intended message. “Making America Great Again” does require convincing people that America was once great but is no longer great. Emphasizing long-past accomplishments, but leaving out recent ones does create that impression.

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