Obama favors fast track to space

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama supports the plan developed by the Bush administration to send U.S. astronauts back to the moon by 2020 and on to Mars after that.

But he also expresses "serious concern" that the United States might go five years without being able to send anyone to space on its own, because space shuttles are scheduled to stop flying after 2010, and a replacement spacecraft will not yet be finished.

Obama wants to shorten that time frame during which the United States would likely rely on Russia to send astronauts to the international space station, but says "underfunding by the Bush administration" will make it difficult.

These details are included in a seven-page policy statement the campaign is expected to formally release today. John McCain has previously said he supports the moon-and-Mars exploration strategy, and that he, too, will work to minimize the number of years in which NASA has no way to send astronauts into space.

How would Obama shorten the time frame? He said he supports congressional efforts to add one space shuttle mission to the 10 remaining flights scheduled. Although he plans to "expedite" development of the new spacecraft, his statement does not explain how.

Obama said the U.S. program should be a tool for international diplomacy and technological development, and inspiration for schoolchildren.

He supports exploring space with astronauts as well as robots. He endorses a proposed robotic mission that would fly to Mars, scoop up samples of rocks and soil, and return them to Earth.

He also pledged to strengthen efforts to enlist companies to develop spacecraft for such jobs as ferrying cargo to the space station; to upgrade satellites that monitor climate; re-establish a national council that coordinates NASA missions with defense and other space missions; and seek ways to make satellites and other "space assets" safe from sabotage, while opposing the "weaponization of space."

The statement contains few specifics of how much new money Obama would funnel into the space agency, or where it would come from.

Curtis Krueger can be reached at ckrueger@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8232.