{"id":13058,"date":"2019-07-23T00:09:28","date_gmt":"2019-07-22T16:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/pence-delivers-a-promise-and-a-warning-to-nasa-and-its-contractors\/"},"modified":"2019-07-23T00:09:28","modified_gmt":"2019-07-22T16:09:28","slug":"pence-delivers-a-promise-and-a-warning-to-nasa-and-its-contractors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/pence-delivers-a-promise-and-a-warning-to-nasa-and-its-contractors\/","title":{"rendered":"Pence delivers a promise, and a warning, to NASA and its contractors"},"content":{"rendered":"

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION<\/p>\n

\"\"
Vice President Mike Pence speaks Saturday at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Office of the Vice President<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite appearances and a presidential tweet suggesting otherwise, the United States is \u201c100%\u201d committed to sending astronauts back to the moon in 2024 and establishing a long-term, sustainable presence there as a stepping stone to eventual piloted flights to Mars, Vice President Mike Pence said in an interview for CBS News\u2019 \u201cThe Takeout.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said the administration strongly supports continued development of the Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift booster, built by Boeing and managed at NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the Lockheed Martin-built Orion crew capsule that will carry astronauts to the moon.<\/p>\n

NASA hopes to launch the first unpiloted test flight of an SLS rocket and an Orion capsule in 2021, years later than originally planned. While Pence said the Trump administration remains committed to the huge rocket\u2019s development, he warned the government will turn to other providers if NASA\u2019s \u201ctraditional\u201d contractors cannot deliver.<\/p>\n

The SLS \u201cis behind schedule, and it\u2019s over budget,\u201d Pence said in an interview Saturday with CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett. \u201cBut the truth is that since the start of the Space Launch System program, many administrations have underfunded it, have (not given) it the attention that it deserves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis administration will not make that mistake. We\u2019re committed to the work being done in Huntsville with the Space Launch System.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, he added, \u201cif we can\u2019t get there on the platforms that we\u2019re building today, the rockets we\u2019re building today, we\u2019re going to get there by any means necessary. Because the president really does believe that American leadership in human space exploration is essential.\u201d<\/p>\n

He singled out SpaceX, the California rocket company founded by Elon Musk, and Blue Origin, a company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.<\/p>\n

Blue Origin is testing a sub-orbital spacecraft that can carry researchers, science instruments and space tourists on brief flights to the lower fringes of space and is designing more powerful heavy lift rockets that will be built at a sprawling manufacturing facility just outside the Kennedy Space Center.<\/p>\n

SpaceX already launches supplies to the International Space Station \u2014 its 18th resupply flight is scheduled for takeoff Wednesday \u2014 and is developing a piloted Crew Dragon spacecraft to carry astronauts to and from the lab complex. SpaceX also launches Falcon Heavy boosters and is developing an even more powerful rocket called \u201cStarship.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a recent interview with TIME Magazine\u2019s Jeff Kluger on \u201cCBS Sunday Morning,\u201d Musk claimed SpaceX could reach the moon in just two years with an unpiloted mission and \u201cmaybe within a year or two of that we could be sending crew. I would say four years at the outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

While NASA and, for now, the Trump administration are committed to the SLS for government moon missions, \u201cwe\u2019re going to continue to lean on\u201d SpaceX and Blue Origin, Pence said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to continue to look to them to give us alternatives to \u2026 provide American leadership in human space exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, despite speculation to the contrary, the vice president said the Trump administration is firmly committed to sending astronauts back to the moon within five years as part of NASA\u2019s newly named Artemis program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s 100% correct,\u201d Pence told Garrett, sitting a few feet away from a recently completed Orion capsule at the Kennedy Space Center. \u201cWe understand, when we go to Mars \u2014 and Americans are going to Mars \u2014 that we\u2019re going to have to have developed new technologies, new equipment and gain new experience that we can only gain on the moon.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the president fully endorses that. It\u2019s one of the reasons why we set the goal that we\u2019re going to return American astronauts to the moon in the next five years and then go on to Mars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if astronauts might walk on the red planet in his lifetime, Pence said \u201cmost certainly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any question whatsoever that we\u2019ll be at Mars well within our lifetime. But it all begins with the stepping stone of getting back to the moon, developing the new technologies and developing the new methods for long-term human presence on another planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the moon is the near-term goal.<\/p>\n

On at least two occasions earlier this year, Mr. Trump appeared to question the wisdom of a return to the moon, repeatedly asking why NASA can\u2019t develop a direct-to-Mars approach.<\/p>\n

The back-to-the-moon objective was written into Space Policy Directive No. 1, which was signed by the president during a White House ceremony on Dec. 11, 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe directive I\u2019m signing today will refocus America\u2019s space program on human exploration and discovery,\u201d the president said. \u201cIt marks an important step in returning American astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972 for long-term exploration and use.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis time, we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprint, we will establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars and, perhaps, someday to many worlds beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASA then began designing a mission architecture that would put astronauts back on the moon in the 2028 timeframe. But earlier this year, on March 27, Pence announced that NASA was being directed to move the landing up to 2024, a decision he said came directly from the president.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the direction of the president of the United States, it is the stated policy of this administration and the United States of America to return American astronauts to the moon within the next five years,\u201d Pence said. \u201cThe first woman and the next man on the moon will both be American astronauts, launched by American rockets from American soil.\u201d<\/p>\n

On May 13, the administration asked Congress for an additional $1.6 billion for NASA\u2019s fiscal 2020 budget to help keep the SLS program on track and to begin initial work on a new moon lander. Then, on June 7, Mr. Trump shocked the space community with a tweet that raised questions about his support for the moon-first initiative.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor all of the money we are spending, NASA should NOT be talking about going to the Moon \u2013 We did that 50 years ago,\u201d the president tweeted. \u201cThey should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science!\u201d<\/p>\n

This past Friday, the president again questioned the moon-first strategy. During a White House event to mark the Apollo 11 anniversary, Mr. Trump raised the topic several times in a photo-op chat with Pence, moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 crewmate Mike Collins, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo get to Mars, you have to land on the moon, they say,\u201d the president said. \u201cAny way of going directly without landing on the moon?\u201d he asked. \u201cIs that a possibility?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
President Donald Trump listens as NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine discusses plans for missions to the moon and Mars. Credit: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bridenstine, repeating the views of many within NASA, answered that the moon offers a relatively nearby proving ground to test the hardware and techniques necessary for much longer Mars missions. The recent discovery of ice in permanently shadowed craters at the moon\u2019s south pole also promises a potentially useful source of water, air and rocket propellant, all of which would be critical to a Mars voyage.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump asked Collins his opinion, and the Apollo 11 veteran said he favors a direct-to-Mars approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou like it direct? It seems to me Mars direct,\u201d Trump said. \u201cWho knows better than these people? I mean, they\u2019ve been doing this stuff for a long time.\u201d Turning to Bridenstine, he again asked, \u201cWhat about the concept of Mars direct?\u201d The NASA administrator again explained why the agency believes the moon is the better near-term target.<\/p>\n

Pence laughed at suggestions the president was opposed to NASA\u2019s current strategy. He said Saturday the president\u2019s comments and questions did not reflect a disagreement about U.S. national space policy and the directive to put astronauts back on the moon before considering flights to Mars.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the American people saw is the president I serve with every day,\u201d Pence said. \u201cHe always wants to go farther, faster, sooner. And so, asking the tough questions, with the experts in the room, having Buzz Aldrin standing there, having Mike Collins standing there, getting their opinions, that\u2019s just how President Trump operates.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said \u201cthe only person that\u2019s more impatient about our space program than the vice president is the president. \u2026 He wants to send America on an unalterable trajectory to put astronauts on Mars. And we all understand that to do that, first, we\u2019ve got to have American rockets going up from American soil. And literally, within the next year, we\u2019ll have American astronauts going back into space from right here in the U.S.A.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, it\u2019s to the moon, where we establish a presence. This time, Major, when we go to the moon, we\u2019re not going to visit. We\u2019re going to stay. We\u2019re going to develop resources. We\u2019re going to develop new methods, new technology. And then it\u2019s on from the moon to Mars.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION Vice President Mike Pence speaks Saturday at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Office of the Vice President Despite appearances and a presidential tweet suggesting otherwise, the United States is \u201c100%\u201d committed to sending astronauts back to the moon in 2024 and establishing a long-term, sustainable presence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1758,304,1545,428,625,190,1883,640],"class_list":["post-13058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-apollo-11","tag-artemis","tag-human-spaceflight","tag-kennedy-space-center","tag-moon","tag-nasa","tag-nasa-budget","tag-orion"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13058"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13058\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}