Parabolic Arc by Doug Messier 6/30/2017
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order reconstituting the National Space Council under Vice President Mike Pence to better coordinate space policy and activities across the government.
Experts are split on whether the council will succeed in its goal or simply add another level of frustrating bureaucracy on top of the existing system.
There is another concern, however, that has received minimal attention thus far.
This is the first step of the White House imposing more control over NASA. Step 2 will come when Trump gets around to nominating a new administrator and deputy administrator to lead the space agency.
I am concerned about what will happen at that point. The administration has already proposed eliminating all or parts of five environmental projects from NASA’s budget as well as closing down NASA’s education program. I fear worse may be to come.
The evidence from other government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy is not encouraging. Administration appointees there have dismissed climate change as a serious issue, eliminated entire sections on the subject from agency websites, and removed scientists from key advisory boards with the intent of replacing them with industry representatives.
I worry that a new leader at NASA could take similar steps in an effort to align the space agency with the administration’s political ideology. That could be very bad for the space agency in the long run.
More:
http://www.parabolicarc.com/2017/06/30/nasa-suffer-trump-administration-tightens-control/#more-61955
