What do the presidents have in common? No background in space engineering.

Take a look at this handy list of presidents' former occupations, and hold on to it for later reference.

And here is a list of the colleges and universities the presidents attended, including those presidents without advanced education.

It is arguable that these lists have been overly simplified. For instance, we know that part of Jimmy Carter's knowledge of nuclear engineering came from his time at Georgia Tech and as an officer in the Navy.

Herbert Hoover is listed as an engineer, and while history has pondered the reasoning behind renaming the Boulder Dam project after him, he was instrumental in its development prior to becoming president.

George H. W. Bush comes closest to being an aerospace engineer, by way of his pilot-in-command experience in the Grumman TBM Avenger (for one) in World War II. Flying any kind of airplane requires a basic understanding of several discplines (aerodynamics, mechanical design, meteorology, and aerospace physiology, just to name a few). And to the elder Bush's credit, he did introduce a NASA exploration plan during his own administration, the Space Exploration Initiative, in 1989. We will discuss this more in future posts.

Just becoming a pilot does not mean you have a true understanding, or love, of aerospace. In my own Air Force career, I met many pilot candidates and flew with many pilots. Pilots, like all people, come in shades of gray. I have known history and business majors who made wonderful pilots. I have known space afficianados who didn't make it through Undergraduate Pilot Training. I have known pilots who should never have been given their wings. Pilots are as varied as humanity itself, which should be expected.

Given that, I don't see the same understanding of aerospace in George W. Bush that I thought I saw in his father. I won't discuss the particulars of his own piloting experience, leaving it to others to argue. But from my own perspective, I detected a difference in how the father and son approached space. You will see, as this blog continues, that this difference plays a major part in how we got to our present state of affairs in the Space Program.

Let's start with the Presidents

The Space Program is a product of governmental policy.

For context, here are some very significant presidential speeches that have affected the Space Program over the last 50 years. If you watch them in total, you will see that the goals have remained roughly the same: create an infrastructure to take humans into outer space, to the moon, to Mars, and beyond. I have inserted Ronald Reagan's address to the nation on the day of the Challenger disaster to emphasize this pivotal moment. No policy was decided on that day, but sweeping changes took place shortly thereafter, and we see manifestations of that today. More on that as we continue this blog.

For now, you are invited to study the following complete presidential speeches. I suggest viewing them in order, and in their entirity.


John F. Kennedy, Address to a Special Joint Session of Congress, May 25, 1961


Richard M. Nixon, Telephone Call to Apollo 11, July 20, 1969


Ronald W. Reagan, The Challenger Speech, January 28, 1986


George W. Bush, The Vision for Space Exploration (text only), January 14, 2004


Barack H. Obama, Presidential Remarks on Human Spaceflight, April 15, 2010

In future postings, I will refer back to this set of speeches. I will also point to various documents and laws that were enacted as a matter of space policy. There is much more to come, as we explore the Space Program together!

Topics we will cover....

You will see these and other areas opened for discussion as this blog unfurls:

Who am I? And why am I qualified to give an opinion?
Current Status of the Space Program
News and resources for public research
The ISS
NASA
• The RID System
• Fiefdoms
• The Crew Office
• Johnson and Marshall
ATK and the Solid Rocket Lobby
Constellation and Project Orion
Alternatives to Ares I / Ares V
The Commercial Space Sector
• There has always been commercial space
o Lockheed, North American, Boeing
• Yes, they worked with government customers - so will the Merchant 7
• They also ran businesses for profit
o If Merchant 7 can succeed, space will be revolutionized
President Obama’s Plan
Why we couldn’t continue previous path
Why the gap?
Soyuz: Its Merits and Pitfalls
The short memory of the American public
• We are here because of failures of the space shuttle
o Loss of Saturn series of boosters
o Shuttle performance not as advertised
o Challenger disaster
o Columbia disaster
o Vision for Space Exploration (2004)
The VSE and how it changed the shape of NASA
Outlook for the aerospace industry
• Industry not attractive for new hires
• Universities brightest are going to other industries
• Kids are distracted by non-Space attractions
• Technical know-how is depleting
o Retirements
o Layoffs
o Bad economy
o Attrition due to opportunities elsewhere
Exploitation of the engineer and the changing paradigms of Corporate America
• Employees not expected to stay with the same company long-term
• Programs increasingly being run more by financial and legal leadership as opposed to technical leadership
• Engineer not left to focus on the task at hand
Is funding the problem? Or is it what we do with those dollars?
2001: A Space Odyssey, revisited
Experience, Expertise and Exercise

Purpose of this blog

This is a time of upheaval for the United States Space Program. No matter what affiliation you may have, we are in a tumultuous time of change regarding all things Space.

I am starting this blog to add my own experience to the mix of opinions that seem to be put forth and accepted without critical thought or background information.

You may not agree with everything you read here. I would hope that we can have a thoughtul and civil discourse. Perhaps we can change how we all think about the path forward and bring understanding to our friends and family who may not grasp the truth, or are too susceptible to the sound bites and trivializing as seen on cable TV.

I am looking for constructive commentary, insight, and expostulation from you, the reader, on any experience or expertise you may wish to bring forth.

Let's work together toward meaningful contribution to the Space Program.