The Politics of Space

Yesterday must have been the day to talk about politicians and space (and I missed it!) because both Jon Goff and Darnell Clayton posted about it on their respective blogs.

Jon's post is a response to Mark Whittington about Barack Obama's position on NASA's Constellation program (Obama had previously suggested delaying Constellation and using the money to fund increases in educational spending). When Whittington questioned whether Obama was flip-flopping on the issue, Jon pointed out that "it is quite possible to both believe in gutting Constellation and at the same time revitalizing NASA. The two are not mutually incompatible at all." Jon has made his position on Constellation quite clear in the past, and I generally agree that Constellation is the wrong way to go about the Vision for Space Exploration at this time.

Darnell, meanwhile, points two two articles from the Orlando Sentinel highlighting the two candidates positions on space exploration. Darnell (and the Sentinel) points out that McCain has come out in firm support of manned space exploration and the Constellation program. Obama, on the other hand, has been vague about his support, though in a statement released on the 50th anniversary of NASA's establishment he said he "believe(s) we need to revitalize NASA's mission to maintain America's leadership." He also suggests that NASA could be used to help get children more interested in STEM education paths (read my posts about STEM education here and here).