USA National Space History, Tradition: VP Leadership, 1% of Budget

America's future as a multi-world civilization still ultimately depends on the Obama administration. The anticipation of a possible major announcement during next January's State of the Union Address leaves the greater space community advocating for radical innovations to the USA's space program. Historically, two constants have affected the national space program: a baseline 1% of the national budget allocated for NASA, and the Vice President. It was VP Johnson under JFK who helped push the creation of the early USA space program and determined that a human Moon mission was indeed possible given proper political, popular and financial support. Other Vice Presidents have followed Johnson's lead on national space policy, including Reagan's VP George Bush Sr. (put forth the Space Exploration Initiative) and Clinton's VP Al Gore (advocated ISS as forum for international cooperation). Obama VP Joe Biden, who during the 2008 campaign rallied for more space industry jobs, is by tradition the most effective person in the current administration to catalyze America's 21st century space leadership. His first priority should be to restore NASA's funding to the standard 1%, which has widespread support among domestic space advocacy groups such as Coalition for Space Exploration and Citizens for Space Exploration. The restoration of funding would advance USA 21st Century space leadership, enable ample funding for all programs and destinations set forth by the Constellation Program's Moon, Mars and Beyond vision and boost individual, commercial, private NewSpace ventures. (Credit: NASA, Wikipedia, CSE, Buzz Aldrin, monster.com)

IAA / Nigeria Conference Pioneering a Sustainable Space Program for Africa

Nigeria is helping to advance space exploration in Africa, which could help boost the quality of life on a continent that remains the poorest and most underdeveloped in the world. On November 24-26, the International Academy of Astronautics, in collaboration with the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) (BR) will hold the 3rd African Regional Conference in Abuja, Nigeria. The theme this year is 'Space for Africa: Joint participation and Knowledge Sharing.' Participants from more than 20 countries will discuss how to develop space science that can help maximize sustainable development of the continent. Topics include space enterprise, Earth observation, propulsion systems, space communication / navigation and related space technologies that can address the needs of Africa. Conference co-chairmen are Adigun Ade Abiodun (T) of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and former ISRO chairman K. Kasturirangan (B). The NASRDA, established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1999, is set on its mission 'to vigorously pursue the development and application of space science for the socio-economic development and enhancement of the quality of life of its people.' (Credit: IAA, NASRDA, UNCOPUOS, psdgraphics.com, tribuneindia.com)