On Monday, January 9, 2017 at 6:40:12 PM UTC+13, JF Mezei wrote:
On 2017-01-08 22:32, William Mook wrote:

That depends. If Space-X is an example of a burgeoning commercial space industry, and buying a reusable rocket is entering a cost-saving partnership, according to Musk the agency can expect to save a lot of money. Similarly, if NASA enters a cost-saving partnership with someone who is building a network of 4000 telecommunications satellites to blanket the Earth with broadband, then they can dispense with their own telecom satellites and share in substantial cost savings going forward. Ditto for working with companies that plan to settle Mars.

NASA has already partnered with SpaceX. Precedent set.

The big question is whether political subsidies to companies who feel
entitled to space subsidies (Boeing, ATK etc) will continue.

Will Trump defer this to Congress/Senate at which point pork continues
unchanged, or will Trump get involved, at which point, his emotions may
control which state gets jobs, which companies get contracts etc.

He recently dissed Boeing for charging $4b for new 747s and said he'd
cancel the contracts. (contracts have not been signed, only a study on
the config/features has been undertaken).

This may be an indicator once he starts his gig as "Trump: the
apprentice President". How he handles the Air Force One issue once he
gets the facts may point to how he will handle equallly expensive
contracts such as SLS/Orion.

For instance, what if Trump points to SpaceX being far more cost
effective and decides to cancel SLS/Orion and the Boeing CST contracts
with the same logic he used to promise to kill the Air Force 1 (non
existant) contract ?

The problem is that once he goes on Twitter to make a promise (before
learning the acvtual facts and impacts), it becomes much harder for him
to change his opinion wthout losing face.


***IF*** Trump's love affair with Putin is true, could the USA lift
sanctions against Russia and Russia offer competitive seats on Soyuz,
allowing Trump to kill one of the SPaceX of Boeing manned COTS
programmes ? Could it re-enable the use of russian engines on one of
main rockets ?


Trump doesn't love Putin. Trump doesn't think starting World War 3 is beneficial to the USA.

http://edition.cnn.com/videos/tv/201...w-cold-war.cnn

In light of this, the neocon madness in Bosnia was a mistake, Afghanistan was a mistake, Iraq was a mistake, Ukraine was a mistake, Libya was a mistake, Syria is an ongoing mistake, and Iran will be a huge mistake if we invade that country too. Trump thinks the USA needs to back down if it wants to get along in the world.

With respect to funding, Trump doesn't defer to anyone. This scares people.. Trump has shown a willingness to challenge the status quo,. Trump says hes cancelling AF One upgrades, cancelling the F-35 fighter, not taking any salary to serve as President, asking DOE for names of officials that support climate change with a view to firing them;

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...mate-meetings/

Trump is asking NASA to stop funding 'politicised science' and vows to cut spending for such science;

https://www.theguardian.com/environm...hange-research

Trump supports a commercial return to the moon and Mars with permanent human presence there and beyond and feels the long term goal for this century should be permanent human presence throughout the solar system and trips to the nearby stars, "to the stars through Mars" is how one Trump official put it;

http://www.ibtimes.com/trump-nasa-pl...noring-2446414

Trump thinks NASA screwing around in orbit after the Gemini flights was bull****, and a distraction, while larger goals and capabilities were ignored as commercial opportunities sidelined bypassed or opposed. Trump will not oppose commercial development. He views the planets of our solar system, and of other star systems, the way a property developer views raw land. He understand to develop any land you need;

(1) Government policies that support land ownership;
(2) Economic strength that supports land development;
(3) Favourable interest rates to secure the necessary investment in long term infrastructure;
(4) Survey data, Transport and communications that support strong demographics;

Since the founding of NASA our government has not had any sensible policies that reward ownership of off world assets or properties. Our economy has struggled with energy supplies, security, and other fundamental issues that have robbed it of the ability to support development off-world. The financial community has not rewarded or supported investments that seek to develop off world assets infrastructure or property. Scientific data hasn't been reviewed for its economic potential. Transport systems have not been developed in ways that promote commercial deployment off world. Communications systems have not been put into place that promote commercial development off world.

These are the areas Trump will focus on, and he will direct NASA, and the DOD to work together to address them, and leave NASA after his first term as an agency that promotes the business of space for qualified users, while the DOD reduces its focus on stopping missile proliferation and focuses instead on safe and reliable commercial space transport provided by approved commercial carriers.