USA space program

Nevertheless, China's space program is in ascendance. And U.S. policy and space officials would do well to take notice, says Leroy Chiao, a former International Space Station commander:

 

"It really makes me cringe when you have people dismiss what they're doing by saying they're only doing what we did 50 years ago," Chiao said. "We can't go to the moon right now. We can't even launch our own astronauts right now. We do have plans, but everyone knows the budgets we have in this country don't support those spaceflight plans."

 

As I reported recently, some experts predict China will surpass what NASA is capable of doing in space during the next decade.

 

While this may sound ridiculous, consider the following plausible scenario:

 

·         To save $3 billion a year, or in the event of a serious structural issue, NASA decides not to extend the ISS past 2020

·         Due to cost overruns NASA's Space Launch System program is significantly delayed, or even canceled

·         China continues with its plans to construct a space station by 2020

 

Were this to happen where would SpaceX fly? Resupply missions to the Chinese space station?

 

The bottom line is that NASA has done, and is doing, a lot of great stuff. But this treasured national institution is in a more perilous position, financially and politically, than I think a lot of people realize.

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