Space policy of the Barack Obama administration

US federal plans for NASA post-2010

|  |

This article is part of
a series about

Barack Obama

|

* * *

Personal

* Early life and career
* Family
* Honors
* Public image
* Publications
* Dreams from My Father
* The Audacity of Hope
* A Promised Land
* Summer playlist
* Non-profit organizations
* Obama Foundation
* One America Appeal

* * *

Illinois State Senator and U.S. Senator from Illinois

* Illinois State Senate tenure
* 2004 DNC keynote address
* U.S. Senate tenure
* 2004 election
* sponsored bills

* * *

44th President of the United States

* Presidency
* timeline
* Transition
* Inaugurations
* first
* second
* Trips
* international
* Efforts to impeach
* Presidential library

* * *

Tenure

* First 100 days
* Recovery Act
* Russia nuclear treaty
* Nobel Peace Prize
* Affordable Care Act
* Dodd–Frank
* Iraq withdrawal
* Killing of Osama bin Laden
* 2011 debt-ceiling crisis
* Libya intervention
* Afghanistan withdrawal
* Benghazi attack
* 2013 debt-ceiling crisis
* Anti-ISIL campaign
* Iraq
* Syria
* Tan suit controversy
* Iran nuclear deal
* Cuban thaw
* Sanctions against Russia
* Selma 50th anniversary speech
* Paris Agreement

* * *

Policies

* Economy
* Energy
* Foreign policy
* Arctic
* Europe
* East Asia
* Middle East
* South Asia
* Obama Doctrine
* Pardons
* Marine
* Native
* Social
* Space

* * *

Appointments

* Cabinet
* Judiciary
* Sotomayor
* Kagan
* Garland
* Supreme Court candidates

* * *

Presidential campaigns

* 2008
* election
* primaries
* convention
* debates
* Obama coalition
* 2012
* election
* primaries
* convention
* debates

* * *

* v
* t
* e

President Obama speaks at KSC's Operations and Checkout Building. President Obama and Senator Bill Nelson arrive at the Shuttle Landing Facility.

The space policy of the Barack Obama administration was announced by U.S. President Barack Obama on April 15, 2010, at a major space policy speech at Kennedy Space Center.[1] He committed to increasing NASA funding by $6 billion over five years and completing the design of a new heavy-lift launch vehicle by 2015 and to begin construction thereafter. He also predicted a U.S.-crewed orbital Mars mission by the mid-2030s, preceded by the Asteroid Redirect Mission by 2025. In response to concerns over job losses, Obama promised a $40 million effort to help Space Coast workers affected by the cancellation of the Space Shuttle program and Constellation program.

The Obama administration's space policy was made subsequent to the final report of the Review of United States Human Space Flight Plans Committee, which it had instituted to review the human spaceflight plans of the United States in the post-Space Shuttle era. The NASA Authorization Act of 2010, passed on October 11, 2010, enacted many of the Obama administration's space policy goals.

## Background

[edit]

President Obama, Michelle Obama and Vice President Biden watch NASA's Lunar Electric Rover at the 2009 inaugural parade.

In November 2007, the Obama presidential campaign released a policy document delaying NASA's Constellation program by five years to fund education programs.[2] There was concern that any delay would prolong the gap after the Space Shuttle's retirement, when the US would be dependent on the Russian government for access to the International Space Station. Other presidential candidates, including Hillary Clinton, did not support the delay.[3]

In January 2008, the Obama campaign revised its position, supporting the immediate development of the Crew Exploration Vehicle and the Ares I rocket to narrow the gap. However, the new policy was silent on the heavy lift Ares V rocket and missions beyond low Earth orbit.[4]

Obama gave the first major space policy speech of his campaign in Titusville, Florida in August 2008.[5] He subsequently approved a seven-page space plan that committed to target dates for destinations beyond low Earth orbit:

> He endorses the goal of sending human missions to the Moon by 2020, as a precursor in an orderly progression to missions to more distant destinations, including Mars.[6]

Obama was noted for "having offered more specifics about his plans for NASA than any U.S. presidential candidate in history".[7]

## Augustine Commission

[edit]

Main article: Review of United States Human Space Flight Plans Committee

The Obama administration instituted the Review of United States Human Space Flight Plans Committee, also known as the Augustine Commission, to review the human spaceflight plans of the United States after the time NASA had planned to retire the Space Shuttle. Their goal was to ensure the nation is on "a vigorous and sustainable path to achieving its boldest aspirations in space." The review was announced by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on May 7, 2009.[8][9][10] The report was released on October 22, 2009.[11]

The Committee judged the nine-year-old Constellation program to be so behind schedule, underfunded and over budget that meeting any of its goals would not be possible. The President removed the program from the 2010 NASA budget request and a bi-partisan congress refused to fund it any longer, effectively canceling the program. One component of the program, the Orion crew capsule, was added back into plans, but only as a rescue vehicle to complement the Russian Soyuz in returning Station crews to Earth in the event of an emergency.[12]

In its final report, the Committee proposed three basic options for exploration beyond low Earth orbit, and appeared to favor the third option:

* Mars First, with a Mars landing, perhaps after a brief test of equipment and procedures on the Moon.
* Moon First, with lunar surface exploration focused on developing the capability to explore Mars.
* A Flexible Path to inner Solar System locations, such as lunar orbit, Lagrange points, near-Earth objects and the moons of Mars, followed by exploration of the lunar surface and/or Martian surface.

In his April 15, 2010 space policy speech at Kennedy Space Center announcing the administration's plans for NASA, none of the 3 plans outlined in the committee's final report was completely selected.[13] The President rejected immediate plans to return to the Moon on the premise that the current plan had become nonviable. He instead promised $6 billion in additional funding and called for development of a new heavy lift rocket program to be ready for construction by 2015 with crewed missions to Mars orbit by the mid-2030s.[14]

## Space policy speech at Kennedy Space Center

[edit]

Obama held a space policy speech, titled "Remarks by the President on Space Exploration in the 21st Century", at the Kennedy Space Center on April 15, 2010.[15] Attendees included then-NASA administrator and Obama appointee Charles Bolden, Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin, Representative Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL), Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), among others.

### Modification of Orion

[edit]

Obama announced the modification of the Orion capsule from its original purpose as a crewed spacecraft for flights to the ISS and the Moon into an emergency escape capsule for the International Space Station, reducing American reliance on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

> In addition, as part of this effort, we will build on the good work already done on the Orion crew capsule. I've directed Charlie Bolden to immediately begin developing a rescue vehicle using this technology, so we are not forced to rely on foreign providers if it becomes necessary to quickly bring our people home from the International Space Station. And this Orion effort will be part of the technological foundation for advanced spacecraft to be used in future deep space missions. In fact, Orion will be readied for flight right here in this room.

### Destinations

[edit]

The new policy changes from Vision for Space Exploration and Constellation program Moon-first approach to a variety of destinations resembling the flexible path approach:

> Early in the next decade, a set of crewed flights will test and prove the systems required for exploration beyond low Earth orbit. And by 2025, we expect new spacecraft designed for long journeys to allow us to begin the first-ever crewed missions beyond the Moon into deep space. So we'll start – we'll start by sending astronauts to an asteroid for the first time in history.

Obama promoted the idea of a crewed mission to orbit Mars by the mid-2030s with a landing as a follow-up.[citation needed]

### Reliance on commercially operated launch vehicles

[edit]

The Falcon 9 rocket Obama referenced in his speech was first launched on June 4, 2010.

In a major shift in the function of NASA in American human spaceflight, the Obama administration proposal would rely solely on launch vehicles designed, manufactured, and operated by private aerospace companies, with NASA paying for flights for government astronauts.

Prior to the speech, Obama toured the launch facilities surrounding the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle with CEO Elon Musk which has received NASA funding through the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program and could loft NASA astronauts under the new plan. In the speech, Obama referenced the maiden flight of the Falcon 9, which would go on to launch successfully less than one and a half months after the speech:

> [The] Falcon 9 rocket we just saw on the launch pad...will be tested for the very first time in the coming weeks.

[citation needed]

### Extension of ISS operations

[edit]

Obama also announced an extension of funding for International Space Station operations, 90% complete by mass[16] at the time of the speech but scheduled to be deorbited by as early as 2015 before Obama announced the extension, which provided funding through 2020.

> And we will extend the life of the International Space Station likely by more than five years, while actually using it for its intended purpose: conducting advanced research that can help improve the daily lives of people here on Earth, as well as testing and improving upon our capabilities in space. This includes technologies like more efficient life support systems that will help reduce the cost of future missions. And in order to reach the space station, we will work with a growing array of private companies competing to make getting to space easier and more affordable.

[citation needed]

### Heavy-lift launch vehicle

[edit]

In the speech, Obama announced the development of a new Heavy Lift Vehicle (HLV) to replace the planned Ares V, with the design planned for completion by 2015, two years prior to the Constellation plan, and construction commencing thereafter:

> Next, we will invest more than $3 billion to conduct research on an advanced "heavy lift rocket"—a vehicle to efficiently send into orbit the crew capsules, propulsion systems, and large quantities of supplies needed to reach deep space. In developing this new vehicle, we will not only look at revising or modifying older models; we want to look at new designs, new materials, new technologies that will transform not just where we can go but what we can do when we get there. And we will finalize a rocket design no later than 2015 and then begin to build it. And I want everybody to understand: That's at least two years earlier than previously planned—and that's conservative, given that the previous program was behind schedule and over budget.

[citation needed]

### Response

[edit]

#### Support

[edit]

Prior to the speech, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk released a statement praising the proposal and criticizing Senators who had opposed it and former NASA administrator Michael Griffin:

> Cancellation was therefore simply a matter of time and thankfully we have a president with the political courage to do the right thing sooner rather than later. We can ill afford the expense of an "Apollo on steroids", as a former NASA Administrator referred to the Ares/Orion program. A lesser President might have waited until after the upcoming election cycle, not caring that billions more dollars would be wasted. It was disappointing to see how many in Congress did not possess this courage. One senator in particular was determined to achieve a new altitude record in hypocrisy, claiming that the public option was bad in healthcare, but good in space![17]

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin released a statement in support of the plan via the White House on February 1, prior to the announcement of the 2011 federal budget, which included the changes Obama announced in the speech:

> I continue to be excited about the development of commercial capabilities to send humans into low earth orbit and what this could ultimately mean in terms of allowing others to experience the transformative power of spaceflight. I can personally attest to what such an experience can do in creating a different perspective regarding our life on Earth and on our future. I applaud the President for his boldness and commitment in working to make this worthwhile dream a reality.[18]

#### Criticism

[edit]

Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Eugene Cernan, commanders of Apollo 11, Apollo 13, and Apollo 17 respectively, said:

* "When President Obama recently released his budget for NASA, he proposed a slight increase in total funding...the accompanying decision to cancel the Constellation program, its Ares 1 and Ares V rockets, and the Orion spacecraft, is devastating."
* "It appears that we will have wasted our current ten plus billion dollar investment in Constellation and, equally importantly, we will have lost the many years required to recreate the equivalent of what we will have discarded."[19]
* "For The United States, the leading space faring nation for nearly half a century, to be without carriage to low Earth orbit and with no human exploration capability to go beyond Earth orbit for an indeterminate time into the future, destines our nation to become one of second or even third rate stature. While the President's plan envisages humans traveling away from Earth and perhaps toward Mars at some time in the future, the lack of developed rockets and spacecraft will assure that ability will not be available for many years."[20]
* "Without the skill and experience that actual spacecraft operation provides, the USA is far too likely to be on a long downhill slide to mediocrity."[21]

Robert Zubrin, president of The Mars Society and whose book The Case for Mars first proposed a Shuttle-derived heavy lift vehicle named Ares, lambasted Obama's plans in the New York Daily News:

* "Under the Obama plan, NASA will spend $100 billion on human spaceflight over the next 10 years in order to accomplish nothing"
* "Obama called for sending a crew to a near Earth asteroid by 2025. ... Had Obama not canceled the Ares V, we could have used it to perform an asteroid mission by 2016. But the President, while calling for such a flight, actually is terminating the programs that would make it possible."
* "With current in-space propulsion technology, we can do a round-trip mission to a near-Earth asteroid or a one-way transit to Mars in six months ... Holdren claims that he wants to develop a new electrically powered space thruster to speed up such trips. But without gigantic space nuclear power reactors to provide them with juice, such thrusters are useless, and the administration has no intention of developing such reactors."[22]

### Video

[edit]

President Barack Obama speaks at Kennedy Space Center

## Subsequent developments

[edit]

The Obama administration released its new formal space policy on June 28, 2010. On July 1, 2010, the NASA administrator, Charles Bolden, said in an interview with al-Jazeera: "When I became the Nasa administrator, he [Mr Obama] charged me with three things. One, he wanted me to help reinspire children to want to get into science and math; he wanted me to expand our international relationships; and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering."[23][24] This was the first time NASA did not specifically list space exploration as a priority.[25]

The NASA Authorization Act of 2010, passed on October 11, 2010, authorized funds for NASA for fiscal year 2011–2013, and enacted many of his stated space policy goals. A total of $58 billion in funding is called for, spread across three years.[26]

The 2011 budget legislation, passed in April 2011, officially terminated the Constellation program. The passage of the budget frees NASA to start working on the new initiatives.[27]

In September 2011, details were announced of the Space Launch System, a Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle being developed by NASA as a replacement for the Ares I and Ares V rockets of the Constellation program.

The Obama administration cut NASA's planetary-sciences budget by 20 percent in 2013, as part of a restructuring plan, contrary to the recommendations of the National Research Council.[28]

In January 2014 the Obama administration announced it would seek to extend the operational life of the International Space Station by four more years to 2024.[29]

## See also

[edit]

* Shuttle-Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (2009)
* Space policy of the United States

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Chang, Kenneth (April 15, 2010). "Obama Promises Renewed Space Program". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
2. ^ "Barack Obama's plan for lifetime success through education" (PDF). Obama for America. November 26, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2011. "The early education plan will be paid for by delaying the NASA Constellation Program for five years..."
3. ^ Kaufman, Marc (November 23, 2007). "Clinton Favors Future Human Spaceflight". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
4. ^ "Barack Obama's Plan For American Leadership in Space". SpaceRef. January 10, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
5. ^ Peterson, Patrick (August 8, 2008). "Sen. Barack Obama Pledges Space Advocacy". Florida Today. Space.com. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
6. ^ "Advancing the frontiers of space exploration" (PDF). Obama for America. August 15, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 28, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
7. ^ Berger, Brian (November 10, 2008). "On Heels of Campaign Promises, Obama Faces Big NASA Decisions". Space News. Space.com. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
8. ^ "U.S. Announces Review of Human Space Flight Plans" (PDF). Office of Science and Technology Policy. May 7, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
9. ^ "NASA launches another Web site". United Press International. June 8, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
10. ^ Bonilla, Dennis (September 8, 2009). "Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee". NASA. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
11. ^ Sciencemag – No to NASA Archived May 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
12. ^ Stencel, Mark (April 15, 2010). "NASA's Flight Plan Gets Small Course Corrections". NPR. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
13. ^ Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee; Augustine; Austin; Chyba; et al. "Seeking A Human Spaceflight Program Worthy of A Great Nation" (PDF). Final Report. NASA. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
14. ^ President Barack Obama on Space Exploration in the 21st Century
15. ^ "Remarks by the President on Space Exploration in the 21st Century". NASA. April 15, 2010. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
16. ^ "NASA Receives 'Keys' to International Space Station from Boeing". NASA. March 5, 2010. Retrieved April 16, 2010. "The football field-sized outpost is now 90 percent complete by mass, and 98 percent complete by internal volume. Supporting a multicultural crew of six, the station has a mass of almost 400 tons and more than 12,000 cubic feet of living space."
17. ^ Musk, Elon (April 15, 2010). "At long last, an inspiring future for space exploration". SpaceX. Retrieved April 16, 2010.
18. ^ Aldrin, Buzz (February 1, 2010). "Statement from Buzz Aldrin: A New Direction in Space" (PDF) (Press release). Office of Science and Technology Policy. Retrieved April 16, 2010.
19. ^ Civilian Military Intelligence Group Neil Armstrong Writes A Letter To Obama. One That Perhaps We Should All Read, by Daniel Russ on April 14, 2010
20. ^ Space News, Don't Forsake U.S. Leadership in Space, 04/25/10, By Frank Wolf
21. ^ USA Today, Apr 14, 2010, Obama's NASA policy: The White House vs. Neil Armstrong, By David Jackson of USA TODAY
22. ^ Obama's Failure to Launch, By Robert Zubrin, Monday, April 19, 2010, 4:00 am
23. ^ "Talk to Al Jazeera - NASA administrator Charles Bolden". Al Jazeera English. July 1, 2010.
24. ^ "Barack Obama: Nasa must try to make Muslims 'feel good'". The Daily Telegraph. July 6, 2010.
25. ^ Clara Moskowitz (July 14, 2010). "NASA chief says agency's goal is Muslim outreach, forgets to mention space". Space.com.
26. ^ "NASA has New Authorization but Future Remains Uncertain". Space News. October 11, 2010. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
27. ^ Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit (April 12, 2011). "NASA Science Budget Holds Steady". ScienceInsider. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
28. ^ "The Obama Legacy in Planetary Exploration". space.com. January 4, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
29. ^ Ferster, Warren; Leone, Dan (January 8, 2014). "White House Endorses 4-year Space Station Extension". SpaceNews.com.

## External links

[edit]

* Works related to President Barack Obama on Space Exploration in the 21st Century at Wikisource
* * Video of speech HD
* Speech transcript at NASA.gov
* Obama’s New Space Exploration Plan Includes Major Role for Private Firms – video report by Democracy Now!
* Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs – John F. Kennedy's May 25, 1961 speech to Congress

Preceded by

Space policy of the George W. Bush administration

|  Space policy of the United States
2009–2016  | Succeeded by

Space policy of the Donald Trump administration

|
|

* v
* t
* e

Barack Obama

* 44th President of the United States (2009–2017)
* U.S. Senator from Illinois (2005–2008)
* Illinois Senator from the 13th district (1997–2004)

| Life and
politics|

* Early life and career
* Illinois Senate career
* 2004 Democratic National Convention
* U.S. Senate career
* Political positions
* Administration foreign policy
* Cannabis
* Mass surveillance
* Social
* Space
* 2009 Nobel Peace Prize
* West Wing Week

|

Presidency
(timeline)|

* Transition
* 2009 inauguration
* 2013 inauguration
* First 100 days
* Timeline
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* January 2017
* Foreign policy
* Middle East
* Afghanistan withdrawal
* Iraq withdrawal
* Killing of Osama bin Laden
* Benghazi attack
* Return to Iraq
* War in Syria
* Iran nuclear deal
* Pivot to Asia
* Cuban thaw
* Obama Doctrine
* Europe
* Economic policy
* Affordable Care Act
* American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
* Dodd–Frank Act
* Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
* Energy/Environmental
* Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act
* Marine policy
* New Energy for America
* Regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act
* Clean Power Plan
* Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014
* Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act
* New START
* MAP-21st Century Act
* FAST Act
* Pardons
* Presidential trips
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016–17
* international
* Judicial appointments
* Supreme Court
* Sotomayor
* Kagan
* Garland
* controversies
* Cabinet
* Presidential Library and Center
* Executive actions
* Executive orders
* Memoranda
* Proclamations
* Trump transition
* Plantation Estate

Books|

* Dreams from My Father (1995)
* The Audacity of Hope (2006)
* Of Thee I Sing (2010)
* A Promised Land (2020)

Speeches|

* "The Audacity of Hope" (2004)
* "Yes We Can" (2008)
* "A More Perfect Union" (2008)
* "Change Has Come to America" (2008)
* "A New Birth of Freedom" (2009)
* Joint session of Congress (2009)
* "A New Beginning" (2009)
* Joint session of Congress (health care reform) (2009)
* State of the Union Address
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* Tucson memorial speech (2011)
* Joint session of Congress (jobs) (2011)
* "You didn't build that" (2012)
* Selma 50th anniversary (2015)
* Farewell address (2017)

Elections|

| Illinois|

* State Senate
* 1996
* 1998
* 2002
* U.S. House of Representatives
* 2000

|

U.S. Senate|

* 2004

Presidential|

* 2008 campaign
* endorsements
* GOP/conservative support
* staff members
* primaries
* primary campaign
* running mate selection
* convention
* debates
* election
* 2012 campaign
* endorsements
* primaries
* convention
* debates
* election

Family|

* Michelle Obama (wife)
* Ann Dunham (mother)
* Barack Obama Sr. (father)
* Lolo Soetoro (stepfather)
* Maya Soetoro-Ng (maternal half-sister)
* Stanley Armour Dunham (maternal grandfather)
* Madelyn Dunham (maternal grandmother)
* Auma Obama (paternal half-sister)
* Malik Obama (paternal half-brother)
* Marian Robinson (mother-in-law)
* Craig Robinson (brother-in-law)
* Bo (family dog)
* Sunny (family dog)

* v
* t
* e

Public image

News and
political events|

* Oprah Winfrey's endorsement
* Citizenship conspiracy theories
* litigation
* Religion conspiracy theories
* Bill Ayers controversy
* Jeremiah Wright controversy
* Republican and conservative support (2008)
* Assassination threats
* 2008 Denver
* 2008 Tennessee
* First inauguration invitations
* Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
* Citizen's Briefing Book
* Tea Party protests
* New Energy for America
* Gates–Crowley Rose Garden meeting
* Firing of Shirley Sherrod
* Impeachment efforts
* Tan suit controversy

Books about|

* Bibliography
* Obama: From Promise to Power
* Barack Obama: Der schwarze Kennedy
* Redemption Song
* The Case Against Barack Obama
* The Obama Nation
* Culture of Corruption
* Catastrophe
* Barack and Michelle
* The Speech
* The Obama Story
* Between Barack and a Hard Place
* Game Change
* Obama Zombies
* Conservative Victory
* The Bridge
* The Obama Diaries
* The Obama Syndrome
* The Obama Identity
* O: A Presidential Novel
* Where's the Birth Certificate?
* Obama's Last Stand
* Barack Obama: The Story
* Game Change 2012
* Buyer's Remorse
* Rising Star
* Shade
* The World as It Is

Music|

* Obama Girl
* "I Got a Crush... on Obama"
* "Barack the Magic Negro"
* will.i.am
* "Yes We Can"
* "The President Sang Amazing Grace"
* "There's No One as Irish as Barack O'Bama"
* "Sí Se Puede Cambiar"
* "My President"
* "Deadheads for Obama"
* "Air and Simple Gifts"
* Change Is Now
* Hope! – Das Obama Musical
* "Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney"
* Barack's Dubs
* "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours"

Film, TV,
and stage|

* By the People: The Election of Barack Obama (2009)
* Change (2010)
* Obama Anak Menteng (2010)
* 2016: Obama's America (2012)
* The Road We've Traveled (2012)
* Southside with You (2016)
* Hillary and Clinton (2016)
* Barry (2016)
* America's Great Divide (2020)
* We the People (2021)
* Renegades: Born in the USA (2021)
* Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union (2021)
* The First Lady (2022)
* Picturing the Obamas (2022)

Other media|

* Social media use
* Artists for Obama
* "Hope" poster
* "Joker" poster
* Hair Like Mine
* Situation Room
* Iman Crosson
* The Forgotten Man (2010 painting)
* President Barack Obama (2018 portrait)
* Obama logo
* In comics
* Barack Obama's summer playlist

Related|

* Barack Obama Day (Illinois)
* Obama Day (Kenya)
* Awards and honors
* Namesakes
* Higher Ground Productions
* "One Last Time (44 Remix)"
* Sunlight before signing

* ← George W. Bush
* Donald Trump →

* Category

* v
* t
* e

NASA

Policy and history|

| History
(creation)|

* NACA (1915)
* National Aeronautics and Space Act (1958)
* Space Task Group (1958)
* Paine (1986)
* Rogers (1986)
* Ride (1987)
* Space Exploration Initiative (1989)
* Augustine (1990)
* U.S. National Space Policy (1996)
* CFUSAI (2002)
* CAIB (2003)
* Vision for Space Exploration (2004)
* Aldridge (2004)
* Augustine (2009)

|

General|

* Space Race
* Administrator and Deputy Administrator
* Chief Scientist
* Astronaut Corps
* Ranks and positions
* Chief
* Budget
* NASA research
* spinoff technologies
* NASA+
* NASA TV
* NASA Social
* Launch Services Program
* Mercury Control Center
* Manned Space Flight Network
* Kennedy Space Center
* Vehicle Assembly Building
* Launch Complex 39
* Launch Complex 48
* Launch Control Center
* Operations and Checkout Building
* Johnson Space Center
* Mission Control
* Lunar Sample Laboratory
* Science Mission Directorate

Human spaceflight
programs|

| Past|

* X-15 (suborbital)
* Mercury
* Gemini
* Apollo
* Skylab
* Apollo–Soyuz (with the Soviet space program)
* Space Shuttle
* Shuttle–Mir (with Roscosmos)
* Constellation

|

Current|

* International Space Station
* Commercial Orbital Transportation Services
* Commercial Crew
* Orion
* Artemis
* Lunar Gateway

Robotic programs|

| Past|

* Hitchhiker
* Mariner
* Mariner Mark II
* MESUR
* Mars Surveyor '98
* New Millennium
* Lunar Orbiter
* Pioneer
* Planetary Observer
* Ranger
* Surveyor
* Viking
* Project Prometheus
* Mars Exploration
* Mars Exploration Rover

|

Current|

* Living With a Star
* Lunar Precursor Robotic Program
* Earth Observing System
* Great Observatories program
* Explorers
* Voyager
* Discovery
* New Frontiers
* Solar Terrestrial Probes
* Commercial Lunar Payload Services
* SIMPLEx

Individual featured
missions
(human and robotic)|

| Past|

* Apollo 11
* COBE
* Mercury 3
* Mercury-Atlas 6
* Magellan
* Pioneer 10
* Pioneer 11
* Galileo
* timeline
* GALEX
* GRAIL
* WMAP
* Space Shuttle
* Spitzer Space Telescope
* Sojourner rover
* Spirit rover
* LADEE
* MESSENGER
* Aquarius
* Cassini
* Dawn
* Kepler space telescope
* Opportunity rover
* timeline
* observed
* RHESSI
* InSight
* Ingenuity helicopter
* flights

|

Currently
operating|

* Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
* 2001 Mars Odyssey
* New Horizons
* International Space Station
* Hubble Space Telescope
* Swift
* THEMIS
* Mars Exploration Rover
* Curiosity rover
* timeline
* GOES 14
* Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
* GOES 15
* Van Allen Probes
* Solar Dynamics Observatory
* Juno
* Mars Science Laboratory
* timeline
* NuSTAR
* Voyager 1
* Voyager 2
* WISE
* MAVEN
* MMS
* OSIRIS-REx
* Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
* Mars 2020
* Perseverance rover
* timeline
* James Webb Space Telescope
* timeline
* PACE
* Europa Clipper

Future|

* NISAR
* Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
* DAVINCI
* VERITAS

Communications
and navigation|

* Near Earth Network
* Space Network
* Deep Space Network (Goldstone
* Madrid
* Canberra
* Space Flight Operations Facility)
* Deep Space Atomic Clock

NASA lists|

* Astronauts
* by name
* by year
* Gemini astronauts
* Apollo astronauts
* Space Shuttle crews
* NASA aircraft
* NASA missions
* uncrewed missions
* Apollo missions
* Space Shuttle missions
* United States rockets
* NASA cancellations
* NASA cameras on spacecraft

NASA images
and artwork|

* Earthrise
* The Blue Marble
* Family Portrait
* Pale Blue Dot
* Pillars of Creation
* Mystic Mountain
* Solar System Family Portrait
* The Day the Earth Smiled
* Fallen Astronaut
* Deep fields
* Lunar plaques
* Pioneer plaques
* Voyager Golden Record
* Apollo 11 goodwill messages
* NASA insignia
* Gemini and Apollo medallions
* Mission patches
* Hubble Space Telescope anniversary images

Related|

* "We choose to go to the Moon"
* Apollo 8 Genesis reading
* Apollo 15 postal covers incident
* Apollo Lunar Module
* Space Mirror Memorial
* The Astronaut Monument
* Lunar sample displays
* Moon rocks
* stolen or missing
* U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame
* Space program on U.S. stamps
* Apollo 17 Moon mice
* Moon tree
* Other primates in space
* NASA International Space Apps Challenge
* Astronauts Day
* National Astronaut Day
* Nikon NASA F4

* Category
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Public policy of the United States

* Agricultural
* Arctic
* Cultural
* Drug
* Education
* Fireworks
* Fiscal
* Taxation
* Telecommunications
* Trade
* Transportation
* Vaccination
* Visa

| Domestic|

* Square Deal
* New Freedom
* New Deal
* Fair Deal
* New Frontier
* Great Society/War on Poverty
* Reagan
* G. W. Bush
* Obama
* Trump (1st)
* Biden
* Trump (2nd)

|

Economic|

* Monetary
* history

| By Presidency|

* Nixon
* Reagan
* Clinton
* G. W. Bush
* Obama
* Trump (1st)
* Biden

|

Energy|

* Hydropower
* Nuclear energy
* Low-level radioactive waste
* Smart grid

| By Presidency|

* Obama
* Trump (1st)
* Biden

|

Environmental|

* Solid waste
* Climate change
* G. W. Bush

| By Presidency|

* Obama
* Trump (1st)
* Biden

|

Foreign|

* History
* Criticism
* Middle East
* Obama

| By Presidency|

* T. Roosevelt
* Wilson
* Hoover
* F. D. Roosevelt
* Truman
* Eisenhower
* Kennedy
* L. B. Johnson
* Nixon
* Ford
* Carter
* Reagan
* G. H. W. Bush
* Clinton
* G. W. Bush
* Obama
* Trump (1st)
* Biden
* Trump (2nd)

|

Gun control|

* Clinton

Immigration|

* Same-sex immigration

| By Presidency|

* Trump (1st)
* Biden
* Trump (2nd)

|

Infrastructure|

* Trump
* Biden

Native American|

* Grant
* Nixon
* Obama
* Biden

Science|

* Genetic
* Stem cell

Social|

* Obama
* Trump (1st)
* Biden

Space|

* Obama
* Trump (1st)
* Biden

* v
* t
* e

Politics of outer space

* Spacefaring nations
* Space policy
* Space traffic management
* Space debris management
* Space Debris Working Group
* Space Debris Committee
* Planetary protection principle
* Post-detection policy
* Asteroid impact
* Prediction
* Avoidance
* Spaceguard
* The Spaceguard Foundation

Space races|

* Cold War space race
* Sputnik crisis
* Timeline
* Billionaire space race
* Mars race
* Records
* Space propaganda
* Space competition

Chinese
space program|

* Two Bombs, One Satellite doctrine (1966–1976)
* Shuguang program (1966–1972)
* Chinese ASAT program (1964–)
* 2007 test
* Project 921 (1992–)
* Shenzhou program
* Tiangong program
* Space station
* Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (2003–)
* Mars and beyond
* Planetary Exploration of China (2016–)
* MARS-500 study

ESA Science Programme|

* European Launcher Development Organisation (1960–1975)
* Europa launcher programme (1962–1973)
* European Space Research Organisation (1964–1975)
* European Space Agency (1975–)
* EU/ESA Space Council
* European Cooperation for Space Standardization
* European Space Research and Technology Centre
* Concurrent Design Facility
* European Astronaut Centre
* ESA Centre for Earth Observation
* Living Planet Programme
* European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications
* European Data Relay System
* Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility (1983–2010)
* European Space Astronomy Centre (2005–)
* European Space Security and Education Centre
* European Space Operations Centre
* ESTRACK network
* Guiana Space Centre
* Ariane launcher programme (1973–)
* Vega launcher programme (1998–)
* European Space Policy Institute
* Space Situational Awareness Programme
* Future Launchers Preparatory Programme
* Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle
* PRIDE
* Space Rider
* ESA Television
* Mars and beyond
* Mars Exploration Joint Initiative
* MARS-500 study
* Aurora programme
* ExoMars

| Horizon 2000 (1985–1995)|

* SOHO
* Cassini–Huygens
* Huygens
* Cluster
* Cluster II
* XMM-Newton
* Rosetta
* INTEGRAL
* Herschel
* Planck

|

Horizon 2000 Plus (1995–2015)|

* ISS programme
* Politics
* Gaia
* LISA Pathfinder
* BepiColombo

Cosmic Vision (2015–2025)|

* Solar Orbiter
* Euclid
* ARIEL
* EnVision
* CHEOPS
* JUICE
* ATHENA
* LISA
* Comet Interceptor
* SMILE

EU Space Programme|

* Western European Union Satellite Centre (1992–2002)
* EU Satellite Centre (2002–)
* EU/ESA Space Council
* EU Commission DG Defence Industry and Space
* European GNSS Supervisory Authority (2004–2010)
* European GNSS Agency (2010–2021)
* EU Agency for the Space Programme (2021–)
* Galileo programme
* Copernicus programme
* EGNOS programme
* EUSST programme
* Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications
* European Union Aviation Safety Agency
* European Network of Civil Aviation Safety Investigation Authorities
* European Defence Agency
* Europe by Satellite

Other European
initiatives and bodies|

* AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe
* Eurospace
* Eurocontrol
* Council of Europe
* Council of European Aerospace Societies
* European Broadcasting Union
* European Civil Aviation Conference
* European Committee for Standardization/European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
* European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations
* European Telecommunications Standards Institute
* European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment
* European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites
* European Patent Organisation
* European Patent Office
* European Telecommunications Satellite Organization
* European Southern Observatory
* Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Indian space policy|

* Department of Space
* Indian Human Spaceflight Programme
* Space Activities Bill
* Indian ASAT programme
* Mission Shakti

British
space programme|

* Creation of the British National Committee for Space Research (1958)
* Start of the Ariel programme (1962)
* Black Arrow launcher (1964–1971)
* Creation of the British National Space Centre (1985)
* Outer Space Act 1986
* Project Juno (1991)
* Space Innovation and Growth Team (2009–2010)
* Creation of the UK Space Agency (2010)
* Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015
* Space Industry Act 2018
* UK Global Navigation Satellite System (2018–2020)
* 2021 Integrated Review
* Defence in a Competitive Age

US space policy|

| Truman
space policy|

* Operation Paperclip
* list of scientists
* Aerobee rocket program
* RAND
* Establishment of Cape Canaveral

|

Eisenhower
space policy|

* WS-117L
* Project Vanguard
* Sputnik crisis
* Introduction to Outer Space
* 1958 NASA Act
* Space Act Agreement
* Cancellation of Man in Space Soonest
* Launch of Project Mercury
* Missile gap
* Launch of X-15 program

Kennedy
space policy|

* Launch of the Mariner program
* Launch of the Gemini project
* Launch of the Apollo program
* "We choose to go to the Moon"

Johnson
space policy|

* 1967 Outer Space Treaty

Nixon
space policy|

* Moon landing
* Extra-Terrestrial Exposure Law
* Launch of the Space Shuttle Program
* Skylab

Ford
space policy|

* Apollo–Soyuz
* Launch of the Viking program

Carter
space policy|

Reagan
space policy|

* Citizens' Advisory Council
* Strategy of Technology doctrine
* Strategic Defense Initiative
* Space Station Freedom proposal
* 1984 Space Act
* 1985 anti-satellite missile test
* Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
* Rogers Report
* Ride Report

George H. W. Bush
space policy|

* Space Exploration Initiative
* 1990 Augustine Committee
* Hubble Space Telescope
* National Space Council

Clinton
space policy|

* Faster, better, cheaper
* Gore–Chernomyrdin Commission
* ISS
* Shuttle–Mir program
* ISS programme
* Politics
* Launch of the Mars Exploration Program
* 1998 Space Act
* Decadal Planning Team
* Launch of the X-37 program

George W. Bush
space policy|

* Aerospace Industry Commission
* 2002 National missile defense directive
* Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
* Vision for Space Exploration
* Aldridge Commission
* ESAS
* 2005 NASA Act
* Launch of the Constellation program
* Operation Burnt Frost

Obama
space policy|

* 2009 Augustine Committee
* Kennedy Space Center speech
* Cancellation of the Constellation program
* Launch of the Space Launch System program
* Redesign of the Orion program
* Flexible path
* Mars Exploration Joint Initiative
* 2010 NASA Act
* Title 51
* Space Shuttle retirement
* Development of the Commercial Crew Program
* 2014 NASA Act
* 2015 Space Act

Trump
space policy|

* Re-establishment of the National Space Council
* Creation of the Space Force
* Launch of the Artemis program
* Launch of the Lunar Gateway project
* Executive Order 13959

* China exclusion policy of NASA
* International Traffic in Arms Regulations
* Full-spectrum dominance doctrine
* Budget of NASA
* House Committee on Space
* NESDIS
* Office of Space Commerce
* FCC
* FAA/AST
* NRO
* IEEE
* Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society
* Antennas & Propagation Society
* Broadcast Technology Society
* Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society
* Vehicular Technology Society

USSR and Russia|

| Soviet
space
program|

| Stalin|

* Operation Osoaviakhim (1946)
* list of scientists

|

Khrushchev|

* Sputnik program
* Sputnik crisis (1957)
* Vostok program (1960–1963)
* Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (1960–1982)
* Soviet crewed lunar programs (1961–1976)
* Voskhod program (1964–1966)

Brezhnev|

* Soyuz program (1967–)
* Interkosmos (1967–1991)
* Salyut program (1971–1986)
* Almaz (1973–1977)
* Buran program (1974–1993)
* Apollo–Soyuz (1975)

Gorbachev|

* Mir (1986–2001)

Roscosmos|

| Yeltsin|

* Gore–Chernomyrdin Commission
* ISS (1993–)
* Shuttle–Mir program
* ISS programme
* Politics

|

Medvedev|

* Medvedev modernisation programme
* 2010 Military doctrine

Putin|

* United Rocket and Space Corporation (2013–2015)
* 2014 Military doctrine
* 2015 Creation of Roscosmos
* Mars
* MARS-500 study
* ExoMars

Other policies|

* Australian space program
* Brazilian space program
* Emirati space program
* Japanese space program
* Kazakh space program
* Kenyan space program
* Lebanese space program
* North Korean space program
* Pakistani space program
* Space programme 2040
* Philippine space program
* South Korean space program
* Ugandan space initiatives
* International Space Station programme
* Politics of the International Space Station

United Nations|

* International Civil Aviation Organization
* ITU-R
* Office for Outer Space Affairs
* UN-SPIDER
* Space Generation Advisory Council
* Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
* General Assembly Fourth Committee

Other intergovernmental
or inter-agency bodies|

* African Space Agency
* Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems
* Committee on Earth Observation Satellites
* Committee on Space Research
* International Planetary Data Alliance
* International Cospas-Sarsat Programme
* Group on Earth Observations
* Global Standards Collaboration
* Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee
* International Charter 'Space and Major Disasters'
* International Mobile Satellite Organization
* International Space Exploration Coordination Group
* International Space Station Multilateral Coordination Board
* International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
* Intersputnik
* Orbital Debris Co-ordination Working Group
* Regional African Satellite Communication Organization
* Arab Satellite Communications Organization
* Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization

Space law|

* Partial Test Ban Treaty (1963)
* Outer Space Treaty (1967)
* Rescue Agreement (1968)
* Space Liability Convention (1972)
* US-USSR Cooperation Agreement (1972)
* Satellite Convention (1974)
* Registration Convention (1975)
* Bogota Declaration (1976)
* Moon Treaty (1979)
* Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (1981)
* International Cospas-Sarsat Programme Agreement (1988)
* International Space Station Intergovernmental Agreement (1998)
* International Docking System Standard
* International Charter 'Space and Major Disasters' (1999)
* Cape Town Treaty, Space Assets protocol (2012)
* Artemis Accords (2020)
* Space jurisdiction
* Common heritage of mankind
* Extraterrestrial real estate
* Astronomical naming conventions
* ITU Radio Regulations
* CCSDS standards
* ODCWG standards
* CEOS standards
* COSPAR standards
* International Designator
* IPDA standards
* GSC standards
* GEO standards
* ISECG standards
* Various conventions, treaties, agreements, memorandums, charters or declarations establishing and governing intergovernmental organisations or inter-agency bodies dealing with space affairs

Commercial use|

* Space industry
* India
* Russia
* United Kingdom
* United States
* Private spaceflight
* Launch market competition
* Space tourism
* Space advertising
* Space technology
* Space-based economy
* Space trade
* Space manufacturing
* Lunar resources
* Project Harvest Moon
* Asteroid mining

Militarisation|

| Space forces,
units and formations|

* Space forces
* Australia
* Brazil
* Canada
* China
* Colombia
* France
* Germany
* Iran
* AJA
* IRGC
* Israel
* Japan
* Netherlands
* New Zealand
* North Korea
* Pakistan
* Russia
* South Korea
* Spain
* Thailand
* Turkey
* United Kingdom
* United States
* History
* Structure
* Vietnam
* Ranks and insignia
* Space commands
* France
* India
* Italy
* NATO
* NORAD
* United Kingdom
* United States

|

Space warfare|

* Space domain awareness
* Space weapon
* Anti-satellite weapon
* China
* India
* Russia
* United States
* Kinetic bombardment
* Kill vehicle
* Missile defense
* Military satellite
* Reconnaissance satellite
* Spaceplane
* Satellite jamming

Space advocacy|

* Air & Space Forces Association
* Alliance for Space Development
* National Space Society
* Space Frontier Foundation
* Mars Society
* Moon Society
* Students for the Exploration and Development of Space
* Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies
* British Interplanetary Society
* Coalition for Deep Space Exploration
* International Academy of Astronautics
* International Astronautical Federation
* International Astronomical Union
* Lunar Explorers Society
* Space Exploration Alliance
* Space Fellowship
* Space Force Association
* Space Foundation
* The Planetary Society

* v
* t
* e

Public-sector space agencies

Africa|

| Pan-African
and pan-Arab|

* RASCOM
* Arabsat

|

National|

* ASAL
* EgSA
* NARSS
* ESSTI
* GSSTC
* KSA
* NASRDA
* SANSA

Americas|

| North America|

* CSA
* NASA
* NESDIS
* OSC
* FAA/AST
* FCC
* USSF
* USSPACECOM
* NRO

|

Latin America
and the Caribbean|

* ALCE
* AEM
* CONAE
* ABE
* AEB
* DCTA
* INPE
* ITA
* CCE
* ABAE
* IVIC

Asia|

| Pan-Asian|

* APSCO

|

Central Asia|

* KazCosmos1
* Roscosmos1
* SRI
* VK
* TNSA1

East Asia|

* CNSA
* SASTIND
* CASC
* CALT
* CAST
* CCF
* CGWIC
* PLAASF
* CASIC
* JAXA
* ISAS
* JSS
* NICT
* NATA
* KASA
* KARI
* KASI
* SaTReC
* TASA

South Asia|

* SPARRSO
* ISRO 2
* Antrix Corp
* DoS
* NRSC
* DSA
* SUPARCO

Southeast Asia|

* BRIN
* ORPA
* INASA
* MYSA
* PhilSA
* SSTL
* GISTDA
* VNSC

West Asia|

* ArmCosmos1
* MAKA1
* NSSA
* NEHSA
* ISA
* ISRC
* ISA
* NCSR
* SSA
* KACST-SRI
* SSA2
* GORS
* TUA
* TÜBİTAK UZAY
* UAESA (MBRSC)

Europe|

| Pan-European|

* CEN/CENELEC
* CEPT
* ETSI
* Eurocontrol
* ECAC
* ESA
* ECSS
* ESTEC
* EAC
* ESRIN
* ECSAT
* ESAC
* ESOC
* ESTRACK
* Guiana Space Centre
* EUMETSAT
* EUTELSAT IGO
* ESO

|

EU and EEA|

* DG DEFIS
* EUSPA
* EU SatCen
* EASA
* BEREC
* ALR 2
* BELSPO
* BIRA-IASB
* SRTI2
* CSO2
* DTU Space
* ESO1
* CNES2
* AAE
* CdE
* DLR2
* HSA
* HSO2
* ASI
* LSA
* LSO1
* SRON
* NSO
* NOSA
* POLSA2
* CBK PAN
* UKE
* KRRiT
* ORO
* ULC
* PTSPACE
* ROSA2
* INTA
* AEC
* EAE
* AEE
* SNSA

Other|

* ArmCosmos1
* MAKA1
* BSA1
* KazCosmos1
* Roscosmos1
* SRI
* VVKO
* SSO
* TUA
* TÜBİTAK UZAY
* SSAU1
* UKSA 2

Oceania|

* ASA
* CSIRO
* NZSA

World|

* CCSDS
* CEOS
* COSPAR
* IPDA
* Cospas-Sarsat
* GEO
* GSC
* IADC
* ICSMD
* IMSO
* ISECG
* ISS MCB
* ITSO
* Intersputnik
* ODCWG
* ITU-R
* UNCOPUOS
* UNOOSA

Former|

* BNSC
* KCST
* LAPAN
* NAL
* NASDA
* SSP
* Interkosmos

* See also: Timeline of first orbital launches by country
* 1 Preceded by the Soviet space program
* 2 Preceded by Interkosmos participation

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template