How to avoid going backward on nation’s space policy
Eccentric billionaires and their companies are pushing the boundaries of space, shaking up the government’s stronghold and posing new policy questions.
George W.S. Abbey, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center between 1996 and 2001, discussed this during an interview with the Chronicle. Abbey is the senior fellow in space policy at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Q: How are commercial companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin affecting the space industry?
A: They reflect really a changing time where you’re having private industry assume more of a role in space. They are much more flexible and able to get things done. And so it’s also bringing competition back into the industry, which is a very healthy thing. It’s been a very good thing as far as space policy is concerned because it’s given us many more options and more capability.
Q: Do commercial companies fit into existing space policies, or do we need new policies?
A: The country needs a new space policy overall because we should have a space policy that really builds on our investments and builds on our capabilities. We should not have a policy that, every four years, changes and we go backward. Rather than terminating the space shuttle, the proper thing to do was to evolve and improve on the space shuttle, because it gave us great capability. We had the ability to assemble large structures in Earth orbit. Once we gave up the space shuttle, we lost that capability, and now we’re going backward and developing capsules that we actually developed back in the ’60s.
Q: What would you like to see in a new space policy?
A: I’d like to see a space policy that takes advantage of the private-government partnerships but also takes advantage of the international partnerships that we have developed so well on the space station. We have an international crew on board, and we’re working very well with our international partners. And I think it really should be the pattern for what we do in the future. Q: What is the most pressing space policy concern?
A: The biggest concern probably is the funding. NASA gets a considerable amount of money every year, but it’s important that they spend the money well and use it the right way. NASA is developing a large rocket, and the private industry is also developing similar rockets. And probably they (private industry rockets) are less expensive and they’ll be flying more frequently. So we need to take a look at the amount of money we’re investing in space. Could we use it to better effect by taking advantage of private industry rather than the government
developing a rocket? Q: How do you feel about President Donald Trump directing NASA to go to the moon before Mars? A: You have to go to the moon first because we’re not ready to go to Mars. There are too many technical problems that we can’t solve today to go take humans to Mars. There’s a radiation problem. The systems that you need to have operating on a spacecraft that goes to Mars and operates on Mars for extended periods of time, that takes very reliable systems. You need to develop those systems and then test them in an environment that is only three days away from the Earth so if you have a problem you can get back. You really are going to have to learn how to operate in outer space. You can do that on the moon. Plus, on the moon there is great science to be done.
Q: On the Mars front, who do you think is going to get there first? NASA or Elon Musk of SpaceX?
A: To go to Mars? With humans? That’s going to be a long way off. Think about trying to get humans to Mars. It’s going to take a lot of capability we don’t have today. Q: What do you think about mining asteroids in zero gravity and other commercial activities? A: If you’re going to do commercial activities in space, they’ve got to give you a return. What you’re mining is going to have to be profitable, and you need to have a very close look at whether you can really do it in an economical fashion and make money. Because that’s what the investors are going to be looking for. I don’t think anyone has really looked at the expense of doing that. They’ve got visions and dreams, but those are one thing. Reality is coming up with a business plan and the hard reality of what it takes to get there, what it takes to get the material back, and is it going to really make you any money. I can do a lot of things here on the Earth, and get a lot of minerals here on the Earth, a lot less expensively than I can in outer space. Q: In summary, how do our space policies look now and what do they need to look like? A: The country really hasn’t had a firm space policy since Apollo. The space policy in the ’60s was: We’re going to go to the moon. Since that time, we really haven’t had a policy that has stayed in place over time. You want to make your investments and build on them and then evolve until getting to your final goal.