Reduced Space Budget Isn’t the Freebie You’d Expect for Commercial Spacing

The Commercial Space Federation has responded to a recently released NASA press release, commenting on the agency’s direction under a new budget–the message? “Thanks for the layup, but no thanks.”

“The commercial space industry stands ready to enable NASA missions and activities that are less expensive, faster, and more innovative in a number of critical areas—including launch, science, and human exploration in low Earth orbit and deep space,” they open, before asking that NASA be given a “A thoughtful transition”. They believe that would allow for “more competitive commercial partnerships, as proposed by the ‘skinny budget’” to allow the country to perform crewed spaceflights at lower cost.

One would expect the Commercial Space Federation would be quite jazzed at the prospect of a lean NASA, but they seem to think there’s just not enough pie to go around as it is, and NASA cuts will directly reduce opportunities for commercial operators just as much. Space commerce is a fledgling industry, and it’s hard to find many clients able to fund the kind of expenses required to undergo even the “cheap” stuff like satellite launches, let alone send living people beyond the stratosphere. The Federation says it’s just not the right time to go slashing space funding, lest the country give up its momentum to competitors in the global sphere.

“The proposed reductions to space and Earth science, space technology, and activity in low-Earth orbit and the ISS, impacting commercial utilization, will have significant negative consequences for the U.S. global posture and the commercial space economy, particularly as China is quickly expanding their space activity and international outreach,” they said, speaking a language more familiar to the current administration. Competition between the East and West has always been a solid play to keep the budget flowing in years past, but in such untrodden territory, 2025 may turn out differently.

“CSF looks forward to working with the Administration and Congress to address concerns with some of the proposed cuts and offer solutions in this constrained budget environment to maintain U.S. leadership in space.”

FMI: www.commercialspaceflight.org