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ADVOCATE

BLITZES

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AIAA CongressionalVisits Day:  is held annually in February and is attended on behalf of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 

 

Florida Space Day  is held this year February 19th in Tallahassee, Fl​. and is sponsored by Space Florida. The theme was appropriately titled: I Love Space, and those advocating did so on behalf of Florida's Space industries.  Notably, many contacts were made for future APPI legislation. 

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The Space Exploration Alliance Legislative Blitz is held annually in DC in February. SEA represents several space  non-profits to advocate for increases to NASA's budget. Last year, students networked with Planetary Society members as well as Fl Senators and Representatives in order to increase awareness of CubeSat-1.

 

 

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POLICY POINTS

Stay in touch with aerospace policy concerns via talking points of major aerospace advocacy groups who participate in legislative blitzes around the country:

 

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS 2019: The Aerospace & Defense (A&D) industry is critical to our nation’s well-being, providing major contributions to national defense and homeland security, the economy, our quality of life, and education and learning. From the increasing growth and varied application of unmanned technology to the development of supersonic aircraft to the boom of activity in low Earth orbit by traditional and new commercial space players, there is much to look forward to in the coming years as government, industry, and academia together continue to imagine and create capabilities that transform our society. 

  • Invest in computational and experimental capabilities to advance military and commercial R&D.

  •  Ensure sufficient and stable funding for federal programs specifically toward helping industry accelerate innovation and developing products in critical areas. 

  • Create programs that enable greater interaction and cooperative arrangements between federal labs and research centers, academia, and industry to develop technologies needed for innovation and growth.

  •  Support robust, long-term federal civil aeronautics and space research and technology initiatives funded at a level that will ensure U.S. leadership.

  • Offer incentives for corporate research and commercialization of that research into new products and services.

  •  Ensure that federal agency R&D budgets provide sufficient funding so that the United States maintains long-term technical leadership and qualitative technical superiority.  

  • Permanently eliminate the arbitrary budget caps and the sequestration process imposed on defense and non-defense discretionary spending.

  • Provide sustained investment for basic scientific research in federal labs at levels consistent with maximizing economic growth and technological leadership.

  •  Provide the DOD with stable and predictable funding that supports efficient and effective multi-year acquisitions and operations.

  •  Streamline the defense acquisition process by tailoring oversight requirements to risk.

  • Provide long-term authorizations and appropriations with top-line increases in the out years to properly fund all NASA missions in a balanced and predictable manner to meet short- and long-term program and mission requirements.

  • Reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and either con rm all open board appointments or allow the bank’s single board member to approve transactions of more than $10 million.  

SPACE FLORIDA/FLORIDA SPACE DAY 2019:  

  • FL Space Day is an annual event providing an opportunity for aerospace companies across the state to share important developments in the area of aerospace – particularly as they relate to jobs, industrial capacity, programs and challenges.

 

  • The Legislature has made important investments – by way of incentives and training/workforce development programs – that have enabled FL to attract, grow and diversify its base of high-tech space/aerospace business, including a strong network of small business suppliers throughout the state.

 

  • Major challenge now is ensuring that we have the skilled workforce needed to fill these high-tech jobs – especially in light of a baby boom generation of engineers who are retiring, as well as the transformation of manufacturing operations with digital and 3-D printing etc. changing the nature of the high-tech workplace.

 

  • FL also benefits from space/aerospace-related technologies that are applied to a wide range of other needs. (Spinoffs from space highlighted in handout materials)

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SPACE EXPLORATION ALLIANCE 2018:

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  • 5% Over Five Years (increase budget to NASA) to address the shortfall of FY19 budget

  • International Cooperation

  • Human missions beyond Low Earth Orbit

  • Robotic Precursor Missions

  • Commercial Solutions over Soyuz

  • Space Flight beyond LEO and Mars including International Cooperation

  • Affordability, Sustainability, and Effect on STEM and Economy

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THE PLANETARY SOCIETY- 2018

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  • TPS is world’s largest and most influential non-profit space organization.

  • Mission is to empower the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration.

  • Founded in 1980 by Carl Sagan, Louis Friedman and Bruce Murray.

  • Over 50,000 members in over 100 countries, and volunteer groups active in over a dozen countries.

  • We realize our mission in three main ways: inspiring and educating people around the world; advocating for space science and planetary science funding in government; and funding innovative science and technology.

  • Work to communicate with and educate the general public through a wide variety of channels to reach out to people, including radio, a quarterly magazine, videos, social media, public events, community partnerships, blogs, and teaching tools.

  • Work directly with the scientific community to bring the story of space exploration down to earth for ordinary people. The Planetary Society is the official outreach partner for the Mastcam-Z camera instrument on NASA’s Mars 2020 rover, and for the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission, among others.

  • Global network of volunteers who develop public outreach programs tailored to their communities, reaching people around the world and inspiring new space advocates. Our global volunteer network is made up of local outreach coordinators and outreach groups. They plan events and activities, engage with local members, and welcome new volunteers and new opportunities to connect with other organizations.

  • Creating a  youth education program, hoping to inspire what people are calling the “Mars Generation” - the young people of today who will lead humans onto the surface of Mars in the future.

  • Engage and empower the people who listen to us, helping them make their voices heard in government. We engage them in writing to their representatives in government, and organize meetings in Congress for members to express their support for space exploration.

  • Advocacy program is strong in the United States, where we have successfully fought for funding for NASA’s planetary sciences division and have supported specific exploration missions to destinations including Pluto and Europa. For example, our advocacy campaign in 2000 to support a proposed mission to Pluto directly contributed to the success of the New Horizons mission, which reached Pluto in 2015. We are also active in space advocacy in Canada, and continue to expand this program to other countries by working closely with their space communities.

  • Advance space exploration through innovative technologies.

  • LightSail spacecraft to test solar sailing for cubesat propulsion. Solar sailing captures the momentum of light to propel a spacecraft. For LightSail, we are specifically testing the potential for solar sails to propel cubesats, which are small, inexpensive satellites that are increasingly being used by small companies, universities and even public schools, increasing access to space. The next LightSail launch is scheduled for summer 2018.

  • Major focus areas that spans all our programs is Planetary Defense, the effort to protect the Earth from an impact by an asteroid or other near earth object (NEO). We conduct international outreach on this topic, fund observers to track and characterize NEOs, and support the development of new technology for deflecting an oncoming NEO.

  • CITIZENS’ SPACE AGENDA 2017 (sponsored by Space Frontier Foundation and National Space Society):

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  • Low-cost access to space based on public-private partnerships

  • Enable development of robust cis-Lunar economy based on commercial purchase of transportation, fuel, and consumables derived from Lunar and asteroid resources

  • Goods manufactured in Space

  • Increase NASA budget to protect Earth

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