OMB/OSTP Want To “Assure America’s Continued Space Dominance”
Keith’s note: Yesterday OMB director Russell Vought and OSTP Director Michael Kratsios issued a memo titled “Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Administration Research and Development Budget Priorities and Cross-Cutting Actions“ to show what the Adminstration’s top five to-do tech things are. The shortest was “Number 5. Assure America’s Continued Space Dominance”. The words “science” and “education” appear nowhere in the space paragraph but “civilian and defense mission needs” appear in the first sentence. We also see the terms “Golden Age of American Innovation” and “Gold Standard Science” which, by virtue of being capitalized, represent the formal names of things that no one has actually defined. But wait: there is a quote at the top of the memo that says “We are going to conquer the vast frontiers of science, and we are going to lead humanity into space and plant the American flag on the planet Mars and even far beyond. And, through it all, we are going to rediscover the unstoppable power of the American spirit, and we are going to renew unlimited promise ofthe American dream. ” – President Donald J. Trump, 2025 Address to Joint Session of Congress”. So, you have your marching orders – and a shrinking budget and gutted workforce with which to carry them out.
2 responses to “OMB/OSTP Want To “Assure America’s Continued Space Dominance””
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All this with current NASA plans and programs reminds me of same management of Soviets back in the days. Where they boast great accomplishments (first satellite, first photos of far side of moon, first man in space, first three man crew, first woman in space, first EVA). In reality all those programs were what Jim Oberg described in 1990s Spectrum magazine as lash-up, political payoffs, and personal favors instead of sustainable programs of substance.
Locally, the Code email that was sent out: There seems to be a shift to more military collaboration, which NASA has done some with, but it seems like being a more direct than is the past.
Though I know some will grumble about shifting NASA to more DOD/Military, from the work perspective, it’s going to be a thankful boon to the Center. And is today’s environment, my newly minted jaded perspective is – Work is Work.