Voting maybe over in the United States, but the election process isn’t yet. And may take several months if it enters a legal battle. Patience is the keyword here as everyone sits on tenterhooks. Amid all the noise about the pandemic, jobs and economy, and each candidate’s plans for managing them, there is one aspect which hasn’t got as much news space — Space. What does the elections in US mean for the Space industry and how the next four years could shape it.
Donald Trump has been quite active when it comes to Space policy realm with a stated mission to must have “American dominance in Space”. While the most talked-about have been his renewed focus on Moon and Mars missions, he also resurrected the National Space Council — dormant since the early 1990s — and signed different Space policy directives with as varied a focus as streamlining regulations in the commercial Space industry, setting up protocols for Space traffic control, strengthen cybersecurity for Space systems, and creation of the US Space Force under Department of Defense. He has also continued to push for increasing NASA’s budget. While that is one thing to cheer about, but much of this was earmarked for the Moon mission, while the agency’s focus on Earth science consistently faced cuts in the past few years.
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What to expect from Joe Biden?
While Joe Biden hasn’t actively talked about Space during the long campaign, one can join some of the dots to make some educated guesses. One thing is clear, a Biden White House means priority focus on Climate Change, and that could mean increased support for Earth Sciences. That is good news for the Earth Observation industry. “Democrats additionally support strengthening NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Earth-observation missions to better understand how climate change is impacting our home planet,” the Democratic Party Platform spells it out clearly.
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However, the platform also pledges to continue to support NASA and commitment to continuing Space exploration and discovery. “We support NASA’s work to return Americans to the Moon and go beyond to Mars, taking the next step in exploring our solar system,” it reads.
One could expect the current commercialization endeavors to continue, especially in the Spaceflight area. Biden was the Vice President when the Obama Administration in 2010 set the agency on a course to provide new transportation into Space for its astronauts, while expanding human presence beyond low Earth orbit and enabling new missions of exploration across the solar system. The May 30 #LaunchAmerica mission was outcome of the decade-long efforts in this. It is a milestone in NASA’s long and arduous efforts around commercialization of the Space sector.
With COVID-19 threat to the global job market, development of commercial Space sector opens a new front for demand of skilled and high-paying workers. Private players in the development of the Space industry will allow it to continue being the leader. A vibrant, sustainable commercial Space industry will greatly enhance the US’s Space exploration achievements, accelerate scientific discovery, add a major new area for economic growth and inspire students to focus on STEM education and careers.
It is too early to speculate what exactly to expect should there be a change of guard at the White House. It is just that Space exploration takes time and efforts – many, many years at a time. And a sustained, continued policy focus, supported by funding, is the only way forward.
