Space Policy Edition #1: How We Got Here: Human Spaceflight at the End of the Obama Era

In the premiere of this new monthly series we briefly examine the latest move by the House of Representatives in the game of NASA's budget and then discuss what Lockheed Martin's new "Mars Base Camp" proposal takes from The Society's Humans Orbiting Mars workshop. Our featured discussion takes a deep dive into the story of President Obama's impact on human spaceflight--how NASA ended up with a mixed program of commercial systems and big government programs.

A new episode of Space Policy Edition will be posted on the first Friday of each month. Let us know what you think about our topics and our approach! Comment on this page or write to [email protected].

Additional Reading/References:

• The House Makes its Counteroffer on NASA’s Budget (planetary.org)
• Lockheed Proposes to have Humans Orbiting Mars by 2028 (planetary.org)
• George W. Bush's Vision for Space Exploration (2004)
• The Government Accountability Office's report on the state of the Constellation program (2009)
• The Review of U.S. Spaceflight Plans Committee, a.k.a. the Augustine Committee, report (2009)
• The NASA Authorization Act of 2010