The Future of NASA as an Effective Vehicle for Advancing National and Global Interests

It is no secret that the impact and role of NASA in the exploration of space has been waning for some time. Discussions of private space initiatives run by SpaceX, Blue Origin, and others have dominated the conversation in recent years and some have even been considering the value of the existence of NASA in a post-cold war world. Fundamentally, we are seeing a disconnect on what the future of public space exploration should be because of the nature of our political system. Interest groups dominate the public sphere and hinder the effectiveness of public space initiatives. 

Many Americans still agree that having a space program has been a valuable investment and believe that the US should stay at the forefront of technological advancement in space, however, the majority of the population now view manned missions as a waste of resources and funding, preferring to prioritize initiatives focused on climate and sustainability when looking at the future of our operations in space. And then there are also those who see space as the next frontier of military aggression and advocate for funding for satellite protection initiatives. Decades after the formation of NASA, the possibilities for human innovation in space have expanded exponentially, opening up the sphere of influence to dozens of interest groups. Furthermore, like many aspects of government policy, the United States has been constantly relying on organizational structures formulated in an era no longer representative of the current situation. NASA is no longer just a tool to galvanize the American public in a fight against communism. But without a clear mission, it has suffered and will continue to suffer, an identity crisis until a clear vision for its role is established. 

But why has NASA fallen into this position of having limited funding, support, and vision, and what should the role of a space initiative be for a democratic government? W.D. Kay, a political scientist from Northwestern University, provides a compelling answer in his book, “Can Democracies Fly in Space?” He argues that democracies, and the US especially, are ineffective at producing high-level technological enterprises because of their bureaucratic structure. Congress, the aerospace industry, the executive branch, and the public among others all have their own incentives and lobby their own interests. Congress wants affordable projects, the Aerospace industry wants expensive ones, the public wants to fund efforts to study climate change and environmental issues, the military wants security-focused space initiatives, and everyone wants projects that achieve ten times what the funding they are provided allow. In a system where initiatives require a myriad of approvals and justifications, space programs get watered down and altered to the point where they are bound to fail. 

Therefore the question becomes, in this lack of political consensus, what should the role of NASA be? It is easy to prescribe the problem of NASA to failures of bureaucracy or a lack of a visionary president, but the reality is that our political system, but domestic and international is nowhere near the point of being conducive to a successful space program in the form it is now. Instead, there must be a comprehensive effort to reshape the structure of NASA with a larger emphasis on cross-department communication and cooperation as well as clearly defined roles, agreed on both in Congress and in the White House, that are more specific than “Drive advances in science, technology, aeronautics, and space exploration to enhance knowledge, education, innovation, economic vitality and stewardship of Earth”. Though this is an inspirational mission statement, the realities of space exploration necessitate a specificity and focus that has not been achieved. The reality of the private sector also provides extensive opportunities for partnerships that have already been taking place. In the next four years, it will be necessary to conduct a complete overhaul of the way we view our space program in order to ensure that it is serving the needs of our national and global community. 

Nikki Farber is a first-year student in the School of Foreign Service studying International Political Economy with a minor in International Development. She is interested in the role of space exploration and innovation in creating sustainable solutions to current global issues.