The View From Here
Plan '10 From Outer Space
Clearly, what we need is a plan. Since its 2010, let’s call it Plan ’10 From Outer Space. In the relatively short time since the FY11 federal budget proposal was submitted to Congress by the White House, the space community worldwide has been buzzing about the aftershocks of both intended and unintended consequences of the…
To Boldly Go Where Ever
Former Space Foundation Chairman of the Board the Honorable Jaime Oaxaca frequently encouraged us to test our plans and intentions against our mission statement and strategic plan, saying: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” Sadly, this seems to be precisely the modus operandi of the Obama White House…
President's NASA Budget Proposal Signals Big Changes
It’s not going to be business as usual. That is perhaps the only definitive thing we can say about President Obama’s FY 2011 NASA proposal, released on Feb. 1. The proposal calls for completing the current Space Shuttle mission schedule even if it slips into 2011, canceling the Constellation program and scuttling plans to return…
Viewing 2010 as a Year of Opportunity
Happy New Year from all of us at the Space Foundation. We hope you’ve enjoyed the 2009 year-end holidays, and are as anxious as we are to explore all the opportunities that 2010 may offer. One of the enjoyments of the 2009 holiday season was the long-awaited science fiction blockbuster Avatar. I was particularly looking…
Déjà Vu All Over Again
Our members know, and thousands of graduates of our education programs can attest, there is no more important mission area for the Space Foundation than education. The past few years have seen tremendous growth in our programs, from the expansion of our graduate institute programs, to the creation of space-specialist masters degree programs, Space Across…
Waiting for Obama
Samuel Beckett’s classic play, Waiting for Godot, “follows two days in the lives of a pair of men who divert themselves while they wait expectantly and unsuccessfully for someone named Godot to arrive,” according to Wikipedia. “They claim him as an acquaintance, but in fact hardly know him, admitting that they would not recognize him were…
Landmark Tour of China's Space Operations Opens a New Book
You cannot open a book without learning something – Confucius If there’s a place in the world that we Americans still have much to learn about, it is China. As I write this column, I have just returned from leading a small delegation of U.S. space executives on a one-week mission to tour China’s manned spaceflight…
Strategic Space Symposium: Your Best Networking Opportunity
The Strategic Space Symposium, set for Nov 2 – 4, 2009, at the Qwest Center Omaha in Omaha, Neb., will offer space and defense professionals an unparalleled opportunity for education, interactive discussion, and exposure to the latest space operations technologies. The new event is structured to facilitate networking with policy-makers, decision-makers, and deal-makers. Co-sponsored by…
We Must Renew Investment in Space
This month’s The View from Here is a reprint of a letter sent to Norman Augustine, chairman of the Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee from Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Elliot Pulham. The committee, which comprises a broad spectrum of space experts and was chartered by President Barack Obama, has been charged with…
The Words that Launched Apollo As Relevant as Ever
This month, people around the world will be marking the 40th anniversary of the United States landing Apollo 11 on the moon. We are seeing advertising for a special exhibition at the JFK library, a new rap video put together by Snoop Dog and Buzz Aldrin, and observances are planned by NASA, the Smithsonian and…