What is being achieved scientifically? nothing at all. you rejust making space the domain of the super rich. you know, this conversation perhaps is much like what happened in the 30s when lindbergh crossed the atlantic. you know, there were many people that said, why do we want to cross the atlantic? in 36 hours, i can take a boat and, you know, in a week be in europe. we have to recognise that space provides a new realm of thinking and operating. i would much rather launch from new york and land in tokyo in 50 minutes, and it s because one orbit around the earth is 90 minutes long, period. so you have to recognise what s happening is the start of, i think, a commercialising access to space in a way that will provide a new dimension in the way we travel, the way we think, and the way
So when nasa bosses told astronauts like scott kelly to tone down their criticism of russia on social media, you were supportive of that, were you? i was. nasa needs to speak as one organisation and our approach is one of a peaceful means and our interaction needs to continue in that area. that s how we re going to, i think, work through some of the more thorny problems as we get to the moon. all right. notjust us, but the russians and the chinese and many others. if we can establish that space is for peace and continue in that way and demonstrate that, i think that s important. those are fine words. whether they can be realistic in the geopolitical world that we see right now is another matter. and it s notjust about state actors, is it?
Indeed, you know, the us has national security needs. space is an integral part of that. we use space as from a vantage point of looking down that s always the high ground as we know it. and therefore, we re going to have to deal with these issues well into the future. did you when donald trump developed this notion of a space force which i noticejoe biden hasn t abandoned, the space force project continues were you supportive of it or, as a scientist, did you feel it was somehow a perversion of what space science should be about? well, my personal opinion is that nasa s not the only organisation in the federal government that works in the space realm, 0k?
So, what portion do you want to use on domestic programmes, what portion do you want to use for nasa to explore space? and, in fact, congress has been very bipartisan in terms of its support of nasa, allowing us to continue on at a steady rate, making some spectacular discoveries. well, you, jim, clearly are an optimist, because what you appear to be avoiding there is the issue of underfunding. jim chuckles. the politicians, for years, have been talking about their enthusiasm for nasa s mission to take human beings back to the moon as a prelude, then, to pushing on to a crewed expedition to mars. they think that is something the public would like and is enthusiastic about, but they re not prepared to pay for it. you ve had to already, before you left nasa s chief scientistjob, you had to accept that the money wasn t there to deliver on getting this mission up to the moon again by 2023.
To establish, it seems, the notion of satellite supremacy? isn t that where you and other americans are probably going to have to focus your interest from a national security point of view? indeed, the us has national security needs. space is an integral part of that. we use space as from a vantage point of looking down. that s always the high ground as we know it. and therefore, we re going to have to deal with these issues well into the future. did you when donald trump developed this notion of a space force which i noticejoe biden hasn t abandoned, the space force project continues were you supportive of it or, as a scientist, did you feel it was somehow a perversion of what space science should be about? well, my personal opinion is that nasa s not the only