Obama Pushes Human Spaceflight, Climate Change Efforts in State of the Union Address

摘要

Every year, the U.S. space community tunes into the State of the Union speech to see what the president might say about space in the address. And, nearly every year, those people are disappointed by the end of the speech, as space gets crowded out by other domestic and foreign policy priorities. This year, however, was different. In two separate portions of the hourlong speech, President Barack Obama mentioned NASA and its programs, both to explore the solar system and to the study Earth. Obama offered no new initiatives for the space agency in the address, but that space was mentioned at all was a pleasant surprise to many. The first mention of the space agency came about halfway into the address, where the president referenced the Dec. 5 test flight of NASA's Orion spacecraft and the upcoming launch of NASA astronaut Scott Kelly-in the audience as a guest of first lady Michelle Obama - on a one-year mission at the International Space Station: "I want Americans to win the race for the kinds of discoveries that unleash new jobs: converting sunlight into liquid fuel; creating revolutionary prosthetics, so that a veteran who gave his arms for his country can play catch with his kids again; pushing out into the solar system not just to visit, but to stay," Obama said. "Last month, we launched a new spacecraft as part of a re-energized space program that will send American astronauts to Mars. And in two months, to prepare us for those missions, Scott Kelly will begin a yearlong stay in space. So, good luck, captain. Make sure to Instagram it. We're proud of you."