Political unity is rare, but we agree that America’s future lies in space.
reddit | r/spacex
What many of the nation’s top policymakers are saying about our nation’s space budget behind closed doors needs to be shouted from the rooftops. A small group of rebels has begun to do something that has been prohibited for decades: publicly defy the president’s formal budget requests. “Budgets are going to double and triple over time,” current Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said recently, while discussing the challenges of securing space assets against the rising tide of authoritarian states with a flat Air Force budget. It will need to be done,” he said.
The simple truth is that both NASA and the U.S. Space Force are woefully underfunded, and the Space Force is catastrophically underfunded. It is not the fault of any single administration or individual, and certainly not the Space Force Guardians. Rather, it is an unprecedented fusion of both humanity’s relentless ambition to explore and exploit and the systematic challenge of a threatening adversary to our vision to advance and govern it. . The universe may be infinite, but no government’s budget, even the United States’, can last very long.
As China continues its open and unrelenting pursuit of superiority in deep space exploration, orbital weaponization, and lunar colonization, former military generals publicly express concerns about the president’s budget. Solid partisan concerns are emerging.
But there are also reasons for optimism. The importance of space to national power has never been a partisan concern, and even the most controversial solutions to the challenge have received bipartisan support. A uniquely American budget solution that combines free market models with government planning and budgeting has already been repeatedly tested and validated to meet the current challenge of a huge lack of needed funding. Although initially met with inertia and bipartisan resistance, SpaceX and NASA’s success in public-private partnerships (PPPs) in space exploration have become the cornerstone of all Space Force space programs and continue to receive full bipartisan support. are. Thanks to the PPP approach promoted under President Obama’s leadership, Elon Musk’s Falcon 9, and now Starship, projects have lowered space launch costs for NASA and the Space Force by relying on privately raised capital. We save billions of dollars a year.
We can learn from President Obama and Musk’s experiment and usher in an era of richer policy on all things space exploration and security, one that partners with and plans for private capital throughout the lifecycle of space exploration. Must be accepted. Leveraging private capital eliminates the cynical and self-defeating need to borrow from the same enemy to close budget shortfalls. This requires a simultaneous commitment to and competition between these partnerships, which faces strong resistance from space defense organizations.
This necessary transition will not be easy, but delaying it risks losing our leadership in space exploration and national security to an alliance of authoritarian nations eager to replace us as a dominant extraterrestrial power. be.
The budget shortfalls facing the Space Force have become increasingly urgent as lack of funding could pose an existential threat to the Space Force’s mission and capabilities. A recent Defense Strategy Committee meeting chaired by former Democratic Congresswoman Jane Herman, a respected national security authority over the past 30 years, highlighted these concerns. Space Force shortfalls are projected to reach $15 billion over the next few years just to address core needs, with additional risks if current legacy space systems fail prematurely. Congress can fill this gap by aligning space programs and programs with private capital investment through long-term contracts, without creating new burdens on taxpayers.
Recent successes include the Space Development Agency’s efforts to competitively and regularly acquire a constellation of small satellites, primarily commercial satellites, to meet warfighting needs. The winning bidder has committed to delivering satellite capabilities in orbit within just two years, or there will be diminishing returns. This approach aligns productive capital with well-managed enterprises and military needs, while penalizing poorly managed enterprises. This redirection of capital and its diversion from unprofitable investments is rapidly accomplishing what politicians could never do.
To harness the billions in private capital needed to build a robust space economy, the Space Force must fully commit to a PPP model. This commitment should be explicit, outlining mission areas suitable for this model and establishing five-year plans for all non-essential government programs. Essentially for a government force, the Space Force should aim to re-capitalize in a way that maximizes competition, integrates as much off-the-shelf hardware and software as possible, and develops only what is not available on the commercial market. It is.
We must set ambitious but achievable deadlines and advocate for Congressional support. At a time when political unity is rare, there is a broad consensus that America’s future lies in space. Securing commitment from Congress will require rethinking government oversight. This means maintaining fair competition on a daily basis, much like SDA does today, and partnering only with financially stable companies. Decisions must be based as much on the financial health of the company as on its technical initiatives.
Strong antitrust oversight enables thousands of small and large space and technology companies to provide affordable, high-quality products and services for both government and commercial use. Preventing monopolies fosters an innovative industrial ecosystem that continually innovates in technology and management practices, driving exploration and expansion beyond the globe.
By relying on commercial companies and private capital, NASA and the Space Force have already saved billions of dollars in launch costs, allowing the U.S. to use the maintains employment. Rethinking Space Force planning, programming, and sustainment with private capital in mind can permanently close the budget gap. Success will be clear if, instead of lamenting persistent cost overruns and budget shortfalls, Congress can demonstrate to taxpayers the economic benefits and job creation that a thriving commercial space economy will bring.
