Credit: NASA
The next president of the United States could be the first in that office to accept a phone call from the Moon and hear a woman’s voice on the line. To do this, they will first have to make a series of strategic decisions about space policy. They will also need a little luck.
Huge government investments support space activities, so the US president has a huge role in shaping space policy during his term.
Previous presidents have leveraged this power to accelerate U.S. leadership in space and strengthen their presidential brand along the way. Presidential support has helped U.S. astronauts land astronauts on the surface of the Moon, establish lasting international partnerships with civilian space agencies abroad, and led to many other major space milestones.
But most presidential candidates refrain from discussing space policy in detail on the campaign trail, leaving voters in the dark about their visions for the final frontier.
For many candidates, getting into trouble with their space policy plans may be more trouble than it’s worth. For one thing, not all presidents even have the opportunity to make significant and memorable decisions regarding space policy, since space missions can operate on decade-long timelines. And in past elections, those who show support for space initiatives often face criticism from their opponents for their high price tag.
But the 2024 election is different. Both candidates have executive records in space policy, a rare surprise for space enthusiasts who will vote this November.
As a researcher studying international affairs in space, I am interested in how these documents interface with the strategic and sustainable use of that domain. A closer look shows that former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris used their positions to consistently prioritize U.S. leadership in space, but they did so with markedly different styles and results.
The record of Trump’s space policy
As president, Trump has established a record of making significant and sustained decisions regarding space policy, but he has done so while drawing more attention to his administration’s space activities than his predecessors. He regularly took personal credit for ideas and achievements prior to his tenure.
The former president oversaw the creation of the US Space Force and the reestablishment of the US Space Command, as well as the National Space Council. These organizations support the development and operation of military space technologies, defend national security satellites in future conflicts, and coordinate among federal agencies working in space.
It also had the most productive record of space policy directives in recent history. These policy directives clarify the U.S. government’s goals in space, including how it should support and rely on the commercial space sector, track objects in Earth orbit, and protect satellites from cyber threats.
He called his support for the creation of the Space Force one of the proudest accomplishments of his tenure. However, this support helped polarize support for the new branch. This polarization has broken the most common pattern of bipartisan public support for space programming.
Like many presidents, not all of Trump’s visions for space have been realized. It successfully redirected NASA’s key human spaceflight destination from Mars to the Moon. But his explicit goal of having astronauts reach the lunar surface by 2024 was unrealistic, given his proposed budget for the agency.
If elected again, the former president may want to accelerate NASA’s lunar plans by promoting investment in the agency’s Artemis program, which hosts its lunar initiatives.
It could frame the initiative as a new space race against China.
Harris’ space policy resume
The Biden administration has continued to support Trump-era initiatives, resisting the temptation to undo or erase past proposals. Its legacy in space is noticeably smaller.
As president of the National Space Council, Harris set the priorities of U.S. space policy and represented the United States on the global stage.
Notably, the Trump administration has maintained this position assigned to the vice president, which the president can change at will, a precedent confirmed by the Biden administration.
In this role, Harris led the United States’ commitment to refrain from testing weapons in space that produce dangerous, long-lived space debris. This decision marks an achievement for the United States in maintaining sustainable space operations and setting an example for others in the international space community.
Like some of the Trump administration’s space policy priorities, not all of Harris’ proposals have found a foothold in Washington.
The Council’s plan to establish a framework for the overall regulation of commercial space activities in the United States, for example, has stalled in Congress.
If implemented, these new regulations would ensure that future space activities, such as private companies operating on the Moon or transporting tourists to orbit and back, pass critical safety checks.
If elected, Harris may choose to continue her efforts to establish responsible standards of behavior in space and organize oversight of the space industry.
Alternatively, he could hand over the portfolio to his vice president, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who has virtually no experience in space policy.
Stability in major space policy decisions
Despite the two candidates’ very different platforms, voters can expect stability in U.S. space politics as a result of this year’s elections.
Given their past leadership, it is unlikely that either candidate will seek to fundamentally alter the long-term missions that larger government space organizations have undertaken during the next presidential term. And neither is likely to jeopardize the achievements of their predecessors.
Thomas G. Roberts, Postdoctoral Researcher in International Affiars, Georgia Institute of Technology
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
