Shelby flexes muscle on private rocket funding
For months, a powerful Republican senator from Alabama has fought the Obama administration to block $150 million that the White House wanted to spend to help private companies build rockets capable of reaching the international space station.
Now, it appears that U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby has won, in a decision that could have a major impact on the Cape Canaveral work force and America’s continued access to space.
According to administration and industry sources, Shelby insisted that $100 million of the money — part of $1 billion set aside for NASA under this spring’s economic stimulus bill — be diverted to Constellation, the troubled rocket program meant to replace the space shuttle after its 2010 retirement.
While details of the concession to Shelby remain unclear, the fight shows the extent to which Shelby will go to defend both Constellation and Marshall Space Flight Center, the Alabama facility that’s developing the Ares 1 rocket that is central to Constellation.
Good for Marshall SFC and Huntsville, but is it good for the country? Shelby does make a valid argument that diverting funds from Constellation could cause the U.S. to rely on the Russians for access to the ISS for a longer period of time. But his move spurns the notion that competition is a good thing. And while such handouts of federal dollars to private companies do smack of corporate welfare at least you can make the case that the federal government is the ultimate customer and, hence, there is some justification behind the seed funding. And sometimes government agencies like NASA need a little threat of competition to keep them moving in the right direction.
I believe Shelby’s on the wrong side of this issue, but he’s gonna do what he feels he’s gotta do to protect jobs in Alabama with little regard to what is in the national interests. Whether that makes him a good Senator or a bad one is up for debate. But it will help him get reelected.
Shelby is on the wrong side of this issue. I think he should’ve left the money alone and I work for MSFC on the damn Constellation program! Since the money was never intended to go to Constellation, it wasn’t really a diversion of funds. The bottom line is that the money would’ve done this country a lot more good in the hands of the private industry because we need to quickly develop a vehicle to get U.S. astronauts onto the space station without relying on the Russians. NASA is not designed to operate quickly. It’s not one of their guidelines. Believe me, I work there. And this isn’t ‘corporate welfare’ because they are developing an ability expressly desired by our government that we are as yet incapable of developing ourselves, so you’re right about that one. Also, he’s not protecting Alabama jobs because, like I said before, this isn’t a diversion of funds. It’s stimulus money. I don’t think anyone in Alabama was at threat of losing their job because the unallocated extra money was $150M shy.
I can’t wait to contribute time and energy to his opponent’s campaign. He just did an untold amount of damage to the aerospace industry.
Don’t be so sure that Shelby will have an opponent.
I think it would be best for the private space companies to avoid the federal money. They might actually succeed if they don’t have bureaucrats and legislators triple guessing every decision.
I would dearly love to see an anti-pork conservative challenge Shelby. I would vote for Riley in a heartbeat if he ran.
What makes you believe Riley would be an anti-pork conservative?
NASA does not want any competition, so Shelby is merely trying to guarantee his constituents the Ares work work through 2015, currently forecast to cost $35billion. The Delta option has been explored outside of NASA, and estimated to cost much less and be ready sooner.
Go get’em Shelby!
Don’t private companies end up with a fair bit of the money anyway? Does anybody have percentages of how much work on Ares is contracted out?