The aerospace industry in Colorado and across the nation is lobbying presidential hopefuls behind the scenes to try to gain more support for space-exploration funding.
At stake is billions of dollars in funding that ultimately translates into jobs — including a high concentration in metro Denver. With the Democratic National Convention being held in August in Denver, some in the aerospace industry see the event as a critical opportunity to communicate their message.
Funding for space exploration is particularly important for Colorado, where Lockheed Martin is working on the Orion crew exploration vehicle, which is the successor to the space shuttle and a key part of NASA’s Constellation program for space exploration.
About 600 people in Colorado are working on Orion at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, based in Jefferson County. That figure is projected to eventually go up to 800.
NASA funding also flows into the state through other Colorado companies as well as the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Colorado School of Mines in Golden.
“It’s not only important for the nation as a whole, but it’s important for Colorado,” said Mary Engola, manager of industry and customer relations at Ball Aerospace & Technologies in Boulder and chairwoman of the Coalition for Space Exploration.
“Colorado is the second-largest space economy in the United States,” Engola said. “If you don’t have funding, programs are going to get cut, jobs are going to be lost, so there is an impact to the state of Colorado if that happens.”
Stiff competition
Colorado’s total private aerospace employment was roughly 26,650 employees in 2007, including space exploration as well as commercial and military space, according to the report.
But the competition for federal funding is stiff. Demands for support of education, health care and national security are strong and are at the forefront of the public’s attention.
“We’re losing the sense of pride in the United States’ accomplishments in space,” said John Stevens, director of business development for Lockheed Martin Space Systems for human spaceflight. “We don’t want to lose that spark.”
As part of their push for support, aerospace-industry leaders are planning events at the DNC.
“We’re trying to get the aerospace impact numbers and agenda in front of the presidential candidates, especially while they’ll be here,” to use the convention as “a catalyst for getting Colorado’s interests on a national stage,” said Sara Cassidy, spokeswoman for the Colorado Space Coalition and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.
The Space Foundation, a national group based in Colorado Springs, plans to hold events with other aerospace companies and organizations at the DNC in Denver and the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul to raise awareness about space, the size of the aerospace industry and its importance.
Sending a message
The Colorado Space Coalition met this month with U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, Sen. Ken Salazar, both Colorado Democrats, and representatives of other members of the delegation to gain support for relaying a message to presidential hopefuls Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain about advancing aerospace.
“The reason we’re concerned at this particular point in time is we’re about to see an administration change, and we would very much like to see that the focus on going back to the moon doesn’t get diverted,” Stevens said.
“If we have fits and starts, if every four years or every year we change our objectives, we’re not going to get there,” Stevens said. “I know that the candidates are weighing the options. What we’re trying to say is going to the moon or going beyond the moon is the right path.”
NASA’s budget is roughly $17 billion, or about seven-tenths of 1 percent of the federal budget.
Candidates mixed
Each of the presidential hopefuls has voiced some support for space exploration but has been less specific about funding levels.
McCain spokeswoman Crystal Benton said McCain is “a strong supporter of NASA and the space program” and has sponsored legislation authorizing funding for the president’s plan to return to the moon.
Obama, in his plan for education, proposed paying for an early-education plan by delaying the NASA Constellation Program for five years, along with other moves.
There have been efforts to reach out to Obama’s campaign, and “he’s since softened his position on that,” Stevens said.
Clinton’s platform on science includes a commitment to “robust human spaceflight to complete the Space Station and later human missions” and plans to “speed development, testing, and deployment of next-generation launch and crew exploration vehicles to replace the aging Space Shuttle,” according to her website. Meanwhile, she proposes more funding for aeronautics and a focus on space-based earth science.
Many in the aerospace industry worry about the United States losing pre-eminence in space exploration to countries such as China and Russia and want to increase the public’s enthusiasm about space so presidential hopefuls see it as more of a priority.
“Through our research, we’ve found that a lot of the public doesn’t fully understand the nation’s space programs, so we really want to get out there and help them understand it,” Engola said.
“Everything is done on the basis of polls,” Stevens said. “If the public is interested, the presidential candidates will definitely be interested in it.
“If the poll says that the American public is not interested, (presidential hopefuls) are not going to spend their public support to foster something that doesn’t have interest.”
Kelly Yamanouchi: 303-954-1488 or kyamanouchi@
