u.s. space exploration programs<u+2014>and particularly the nation<u+2019>s budding commercial-space industry<u+2014>face a potentially major reset, as president-elect donald trump <u+2019>s team already is studying ways to revamp spending on the national aeronautics and space administration while more closely coordinating military and civilian development of new big rockets. the next administration is likely to face industry pressure and strong bipartisan support on capitol hill to stay the course on current nasa programs, something that didn<u+2019>t happen during previous white house shifts. but with many current policies championed by some of hillary clinton <u+2019>s advisers, transition aides foresee policy revisions and budget challenges requiring new priorities and spending patterns. mike pence, mr. trump<u+2019>s running mate, already has promised to revive a white house space policy council, disbanded since the 1990s, to rationalize governmentwide space spending, identify new goals and squeeze savings out of longstanding initiatives. for nasa and its leading contractors, shaken by sharp changes in the wake of the 2008 presidential election, tuesday<u+2019>s results could translate into serious belt tightening. yet mr. trump has stressed the importance of supporting deep-space exploration, and his campaign attracted a cadre of veteran experts with long histories supporting robust space efforts. one far-reaching set of potential changes that have been discussed for years may now be squarely on the table, according to industry officials and transitions aides: restructuring and shrinking nasa<u+2019>s web of regional centers. such moves could slash thousands of employees and save billions of dollars yearly. based on mr. trump<u+2019>s campaign positions, nasa<u+2019>s climate-change research also may come under the ax, along with aerospace research not directly tied to space endeavors. during the primaries, mr. trump hinted his nasa policies would cut agency spending as part of a broader deficit reduction drive, though such topics generated scant attention. but as the general election campaign heated up in florida, where space is a fundamental pillar of the economy, the message morphed into extolling the importance of pursuing such programs at the same time, some of mr. trump<u+2019>s supporters have emphasized the need to reassess u.s. involvement in international space missions. china and russia aim to create their own orbiting laboratories after the anticipated demise of the international space station by 2024. meanwhile, many european countries look to scale back manned space expectations and expenditures even as they increasingly focus on earth-observation satellites and climate research. in the spring, before mr. trump emerged as the gop candidate, a coalition of academic groups and trade associations issued an unusual call for continuity in u.s. space priorities. many former nasa leaders have consistently sent same message. though mr. trump<u+2019>s national campaign leaders seemingly paid scant attention to space and his team of advisers on the topic didn<u+2019>t kick into gear until the past few weeks, people familiar with the process say a raft of policy papers and options are in the works. in an apparent pre-emptive move to head off possible personnel cuts, nasa chief charles bolden sent an agencywide memo praising the quality of nasa<u+2019>s workforce. he noted that support for space programs <u+201c>not only reaches across the aisle, but across public, private, academic and nonprofit sectors.<u+201d> mr. bolden reiterated that nasa is carrying out the obama administration<u+2019>s drive to send astronauts to mars in roughly three decades, adding that it is closer to that goal today <u+201c>than anyone, anywhere, at any time has ever been.<u+201d> manned missions to the red planet, however, still lack technical and budget details. and entrepreneurs such as elon musk are eyeing the same goal and pledging to reach it faster and at lower cost. write to andy pasztor at andy.pasztor@wsj.com
u.s. space exploration programs face potential reset under donald trump - wsj
andy pasztor