SLS/Orion Gets a Lobbying Organization in Washington (Update)
Coalition for Space Exploration takes steps to ensure broad support for deep-space exploration
“The Coalition for Space Exploration, an ad-hoc organization of space industry businesses and advocacy groups, today announced it is taking formal steps to provide a single, unified voice for the deep-space exploration industry. The organization is seeking 501 (c) 6 status, appointing an executive director and changing the name of the organization to the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration.”
Keith’s note: The Coalition for Space Exploration was originally created by many aerospace companies to promote all aspects of space exploration and they managed to do a good job at being balanced and enthusiastic. That effort has now been taken over by the so-called “Four Amigos”: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Aerojet, and Orbital ATK and will now be a de facto lobbying effort in Washington DC for SLS and Orion. It will be interesting to see how its new executive director Mary Lynne Dittmar deals with conflict of interest issues given that she also works for CASIS (which gets 99.9% of its funding from NASA) and is a member of the National Academies of Sciences Space Studies Board Executive Committee. Given the broad and overlapping aspects of all these jobs/positions, it is a little hard to see where government, private sector, and advisory aspects of her employment would not overlap at least once a day.
The Four Amigos and The Future of Competition in Space Commerce, earlier post
Keith’s update: Congress has been moving ahead with a budget today. Does this new organization speak out against the cuts to NASA commercial crew (which affects the 4 Amigos) or stay silent and only praise funding for SLS/Orion (which benefits the 4 Amigos)? Stay tuned.
Those lobbyists better be careful; bacon causes cancer, dontchaknow.
Yeah. I seems to go right to certain politicians’ brains.
This is insane. Boeing and LockMart lobby congress ALL the time for pork. I know, I see it.
This is why we are not doing the great things in HSF at NASA. It is not the people or the lack of ability… but it is because of Boeing, LockMart, and the feeble minded congressmen who refuse to act with integrity.
And its shameful.
I hope this bunch does a better job marketing/lobbying Orion and SLS than CASIS does for ISS.
I think that CASIS is actually supposed to be pushing ISS utilization (?) but they seem more like a marketing arm of the ISS, with a similar mission as the Coalition’s.
At least the Coalition will get their money from the contractors (who get their money from NASA) instead of how CASIS does it, which is just taking money directly from NASA. Maybe the contractors will put on more pressure to make it succesful? Apparently the contractor (mainly just Boeing) just doesn’t make enough off ISS to lobby/market? Kind of inexplicable given the cost of ISS. They must be making plenty from it.
They are just crooks trying to stop progress in space. These guys are just ganging up to stop delay SpaceX. They claim it is about helping SPACE EXPLORATION BEYOND EARTH ORBIT, but that is a lie, this is nothing more than old Space crooks protecting their turf against progress.
This is the horse and buggy makers trying to stop Henry Ford from building the affordable assembly line car.
Keith doesn’t like to use the term old Space, well his four amigo ARE old Space trying to stop new space progressive space.
I find it hard to believe that people are so blind to believe that these clowns/four Amigos will ever allow any progress.
GO ELON!!
Get back to flight
Become strong
Build your AFFORDABLE BFRS
And crush these OLD SPACE PORK EATERS.
Yeah. Love the passion.
Look up in the sky grandson.
Can you see those three dots?
The brightest is Venus, hot planet closest to earth and about the same size as earth.
Next brightest mighty Jupiter, far far away, giant ball of gas with great storms.
The smallest dot is Mars, We have robots their now pretending to look for life.
When I was a small boy NASA paid companies that flew some men to the moon!
Are there people on the moon now grandpa??
No.
Are there people on Venus, Mars, or Jupiter grandpa?
No.
Does anybody live in space grandpa???
Just a few.
When I grow up could I live in Space Grandpa??
Not likely.
Why not?
Because the people that build rockets and spaceships make more money for you to never be able to afford to live in space grandson.
Sad but true.
Some people claim ISS is a dead end and we will never explore space if we have to pay for porky ISS.
They are wrong.
ISS is the fastest road beyond earth orbit!
Why?
Because the ISS giives money to Elon Musk’s Spacex, NOT to Boeing and their cronies.
Boeing itself isn’t evil (look at CST-100). The contracts for SLS are the problem. What we need is “commercial HLV”. Let the market compete for the best solutions, not fund yet another government run launch vehicle monopoly.
Seems Boeing already worked uncle Sam over on the “commercial contracts”
Look CST-100
Twice the price for half the capability
No thrusters in the capsule, no landing potential on other planets.
At this very moment spaceX has their test article at their texas site ready to start hopping on a two year program till its an earth lander.
Only question is, is dragonflies part of commercial crew or is SpaceX funding the propulsive landing part on their own dime.
All around the industry you here missions start with a lander, seems SpaceX decided they would build a dam lander anyway.
BOEING BARE BONES LIMITED CAPABILITY MAXIMUM DEVELOPMENT PROFIT same old crap.
BOEING made sure Dream chaser got crushed too,
Which is a better design that could land on any runway, not require a giant dessert landing like the Russians have been doing for years.
Landing on a gigantic bread pudding “dessert” would be a treat. But I think you mean “desert”, although the plains of Kazahkstan are not completely arid and might be better described as “steppe”.
Lol
Yes cell touch is hopping around making editing difficult 🙂
Pumpkin pie is in season
Still far cheaper than Orion. That and with two commercial providers in competition, there is an actual incentive to improve and reduce costs. This is something that is *entirely* absent from SLS.
Amen, Brother.
Not a surprise that the very expensive Rocket to Nowhere needs a lobby organization. Other than pork, this launch vehicle is next to useless. It will have an abysmally low flight rate, insane fixed costs, and dubious safety/reliability (mostly due to the solids and the low flight rate).
It says on the deep space coalitions website that “Membership in the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration is open to
companies and organizations that to support the exploration of deep
space.”
So KC-I guess they can stay mum on commercial crew, because that is low Earth orbit. As well, with this very specific wording the coalition can reject an applicant that says they’d like to join to assure that deep space exploration does not reject the positive and potential benefits of systems in LEO that can be stepping-stones to deep space.
DTARS very nice comment very well said about the so-called Four Amigos Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Aerojet, and Orbital ATK . Looking forward to SpaceX return to flight in December very real soon.