NASA and the Commercialization of Space

Greg Jackson (0:01)

This is Rewind.

SPEAKER_2 (0:03)

Rewind.

Lindsey Cormack (0:07)

And this is the final question. 50 years from now, will people look back on this time as the moment that the government unlocked space or the moment that the government handed over space to private corporations?

Greg Jackson (0:18)

It's 325 in the afternoon, January 14, 2004 We're in the nine-story, glass-encased exterior NASA headquarters at 300 E Street, Southwest, Washington, DC. Outside, there's an arctic chill in the air as temperatures hover just above 30 degrees Fahrenheit. But here, inside NASA headquarters, the reception for President George W. Bush is warm and inviting. It's a big day for the folksy commander-in-chief, one that will define how the United States approaches the future of space exploration. After getting to the moon at the behest of John F. Kennedy, the American space program has made some incredible achievements and endured unspeakable tragedy. Most notably, the 1986 Challenger Space Shuttle disaster and in 2003, less than a year before this day at NASA headquarters, the explosion of the Columbia shuttle.

With that in mind, the government wants to bring renewed focus and energy in our missions to the heavens. And today's presidential speech on January 14th, 2004 is the first step on that journey. George Bush walks on stage to a thunderous applause, arriving to join NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe at the podium.

Dubya, as the son of a former president, is affectionately called to distinguish him from his father, is smartly dressed in a crisp dark suit with an American flag pinned on his lapel. After Sean delivers some opening remarks, he hands things over to the president. With Americans watching live on TV at home, George starts things off by telling everyone in the room how honored he is to be here and how they simplify the country's greatest values.

SPEAKER_2 (1:53)

Daring, discipline, ingenuity, and unity in the pursuit of great goals.

America is proud of our space program. The risk takers and visionaries of this agency have expanded human knowledge, have revolutionized our understanding of the universe, and produced technological advances that have benefited all of humanity.

Greg Jackson (2:24)

And now, inspired by all that's come before, the president lays out his vision for the future.

SPEAKER_2 (2:29)

We will build new ships to carry man forward into the universe, to gain a new foothold on the moon, and to prepare for new journeys to the worlds beyond our own.

Greg Jackson (2:43)

To achieve this, W lays out three specific goals.

SPEAKER_2 (2:48)

Our first goal is to complete the International Space Station by 2010 We will finish what we have started.

We will meet our obligations to our 15 international partners on this project. We will focus our future research aboard the station on the long-term effects of space travel on human biology.

Greg Jackson (3:09)

I can only imagine what everyone listening to the live broadcast must be thinking. Whole new world of possibilities for scientific experiments and pushing human boundaries.

But before we let our minds wander too much, the 43rd president has another step to tell us about.

SPEAKER_2 (3:25)

Our second goal is to develop and test a new spacecraft, the crew exploration vehicle, by 2008 and to conduct the first manned mission no later than 2014

The crew exploration vehicle will be capable of ferrying astronauts and scientists to the space station after the shuttle is retired. But the main purpose of this spacecraft will be to carry astronauts beyond our orbit to other worlds.

Greg Jackson (3:55)

Once those are in place, NASA will move on to the final piece of the puzzle.

SPEAKER_2 (3:59)

Our third goal is to return to the moon by 2020 as the launching point for missions beyond. Beginning no later than 2008, we will send a series of robotic missions to the lunar surface to research and prepare for future human exploration.

Using the crew exploration vehicle, we will undertake extended human missions to the moon as early as 2015 with the goal of living and working there for increasingly extended periods of time.

Greg Jackson (4:35)

Now, that last mark won't quite get hit, though Artemis IV is scheduled to land astronauts back on the moon sometime in 2028 But in the immediate aftermath of George W. Bush's rousing speech, Congress approves the $16.2 billion he asked for to kickstart that vision.

Without a doubt, space exploration has grown and changed since President George W. Bush gave that speech 22 years ago. And not all of that change is how or what we expected. After the Challenger and Columbia disasters, it was clear that the government needed to rethink its approach to the stars. The President's goals of completing the International Space Station, or the ISS for short, creating the Crew Exploration Vehicle and the Artemis Mission have all been achieved. But our present contains one major development not projected by W.