[Satellite News 01-13-08] After a series of discussions with the transition team for President-elect Barack Obama, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) is proposing that U.S. space capabilities and budget issues be coordinated directly with the president.
    At a press conference to discuss its report, “The Role of Space in Addressing America’s National Priorities,” AIA CEO Marion Blakey said her organization envisions a singular, comprehensive body to overlook matters related to the U.S. space program.
    “I am very pleased that Obama has promised to revive the National Aerospace Council,” said Blakey. “After the 1970s, the council’s activity has been sporadic. We need an outside, non-partisan organization to coordinate space policies across all agencies and we need a national budget that provides robust and stable funding towards space.”
    While space funding is not at serious risk with the new administration, the AIA would still make budget stability on multi-phase space projects a top priority in order to push its ideas. Blakey cited military and environmental science dependency on GPS and other observational satellites as one of several key reasons Obama and U.S. Congress should tackle these issues early in the new presidential term.
    “It would not benefit us to think of the United States as the current leader in space,” said Blakey. “The next boots on the moon could very well be from another country like China.”
    NASA’s space exploration program was a central part of the dialogue with the Obama administration, AIA said. “The gap in NASA human spaceflight has raised serious concern,” said Eric Thoemmes, vice president of space systems and operations for Lockheed Martin. “There are a number of fragilities in these areas. Aerospace CEOs have all met together to discuss these problems. Even though we disagree on some issues, you would be surprised that there is a consensus when it comes to the issues outlined in the report.”
    To address the gap, AIA is calling on the Obama administration to stay on the course on space exploration initiative enacted in 2004 by President George W. Bush. AIA is encouraging all U.S. government agencies to use the International Space Station’s capabilities and continue funding NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation System program.
    When asked to comment on the debate of whether or not to abandon NASA’s Ares vehicle in favor of Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles, Thoemmes said AIA supports the current space architecture. “That doesn’t mean we’re not open to a review,” he said. “If you just close the door on Ares 1X, you close the door on the Ares program. We cannot do that without studying the goals of the program.”
    AIA also is  calling for comprehensive International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) reforms. “The Obama administration is dealing with the ITAR application process issues, which are outdated,” said Blakey. “We need a fresh outlook on them, which we believe the Obama administration is capable of doing. We need more coordination between the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Already, our backlog of license applications has dropped significantly.”
    Thoemmes said ITAR has created a whole industry of suppliers who, despite the regulations, will export U.S. space subsystems to foreign customers. “ITAR-controlled supplies are available on the global market, so the restrictions have clearly come with consequences.”
    On the economic issues, J.P. Stevens, vice president of space systems at AIA, said sustaining and growing the aerospace industry’s workforce, which sits as just more than 600,000 workers, also should be a focus of the new administration. “We need to attract young engineers,” said Stevens. “We’re working with Lockheed Martin’s Space Day to get kids as young as kindergarten to be excited about space.”
    Blakey added that AIA is a leader in stem education. “Our industry is spending over $8 million per year on encouraging young people in math and science. This is also an area where we plan on partnering with the Obama administration.”
    Thoemmes said his company’s National Rocketry Challenge is helping to attract future aerospace personnel from grades 7 to 12. “You don’t decide to become an aerospace engineer in college,” said Thoemmes. “You have to start as early as you can.”