Pledging $40 million to "develop regional economic growth and job creation" on Florida's Space Coast, President Barack Obama on Thursday sought to soothe concerns about impending employment losses related to the phase-out of the shuttle program.
He didn't necessarily sway Florida officials.
While acknowledging short-term pain in terms of shuttle-related job losses, the president suggested there will be long-term gains in his plan.
"The fact is, we will add 2,500 jobs on the Space Coast over the next two years, compared to the previous administration," Obama told a crowd at the Kennedy Space Center.
The president went on to predict the creation of 10,000 new jobs "over the next few years -- many of them created right here in Florida."
"We will modernize the Kennedy Space Center and more jobs will be created as companies compete," he told the applauding crowd.
Obama said he expects his $40 million economic initiative "to reach my desk by Aug. 15."
Reaction to the president's proposals was swift, and not universally positive.
"We're still talking about a net loss of over 5,000 jobs lost at the Cape. That's 15,000 overall in terms of indirect jobs," said Bill Cunningham, chairman of the board of the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast.
As for the $40 million economic package, Cunningham said, "Wednesday was the first time we heard of it."
"It sounds great, but whether there's substance in the detail is hard to tell."
U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, was even more skeptical, saying, "I wouldnt feel comfortable taking (the president's) job numbers to the bank."
"There have been a lot of numbers tossed around, and NASA told us just last week they could not translate the top line budget numbers into center-specific jobs numbers because those decisions would be made by the contractors once those contracts are let.
"This week NASA has a different story," Posey said.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach, praised the president for addressing workforce issues, but said "there is still room for improvement."
Florida Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, said he was "very discouraged" by the president's speech, which he called "long on style and short on substance."
"He campaigned on a promise to reduce the gap between the shuttle and Constellation. He's just clearly broken a promise," Haridopolos said.
Noting that the decision to phase out the 29-year-old Space Shuttle program was made "six years ago, not six months ago," Obama called for new technologies and new long-range missions.
In the near term, during what he called "a time of transition," Obama said NASA would "ramp up robotic exploration, including an advanced telescope to follow Hubble."
To do so, he said the agency "will work with a growing array of private companies to make getting into space easier and more affordable."
"By buying the services of space transportation, we will accelerate the pace of innovation," he declared.
"After decades of neglect, we will increase investment," Obama vowed, noting that NASA's budget will grow by $6 billion over the next five years.
Keyed by a $3 billion commitment to develop a new heavy-lift rocket, the president said he expects design to be completed "no later than 2015."
"By 2025, we expect new spacecraft to be designed for crewed missions beyond the moon and into deep space."
Subsequent to that -- sometime "after the mid-2030s" -- Obama said the United States will land astronauts on Mars.
"And I expect to be around to see it," he said.
But Kosmas cautioned, "Without working toward a specific vehicle and without having American access to the International Space Station, we risk losing our supremacy in space."
Posey concurred, saying, "I am concerned that NASAs current plan bets too much of our nations space future on commercial space companies.We must also remember that our space efforts have national security implications and a clear federal government role.
"Additionally, there is really no foreseeable return on commercial investment except as sub-contractors for a federal program.
Much of the work on NASA's current Orion project is being performed by Lockheed Martin -- in Colorado.
Kosmas and Posey have introduced bills that would extend the Shuttle program and establish a next-generation NASA-led vehicle. Their legislation calls for a final decision on a heavy-lift vehicle within six months of enactment, rather than 2015, as the president announced Thursday.
Prior to his speech, Obama toured a commercial rocket processing facility, SpaceX Launch Complex 40, and viewed a Falcon 9 commercial rocket being readied for its maiden voyage next month.
The SpaceX-made Falcon 9, one of several rockets that will compete in a new commercial space race, will be the launch vehicle for the Dragon capsule which will carry cargo to the International Space Station and could compete to carry astronauts to the ISS.
Space X, whose full name is Space Exploration Technologies Corp., has grown to almost 1,000 employees since it was founded in 2002.
Obama called his commercialization initiatives a new beginning, not merely a continuation of the current space path.
"Bottom line," he said, "nobody is more committed to manned space flight than I am, but we have to do it in a smart way and we can't just keep doing the same old things we've been doing.
"We will actually reach space faster and more often under this plan -- improving technology and lowering costs. We will send many more astronauts into space over the next decade," the president concluded.
Frank DiBello, president of Space Florida, expressed confidence that the administration's plan will boost Florida's space prospects.
"While there is some disruption in any large-program transition ... Florida is much better aligned with the future of this program than it might have been of the older program. We're much more centric," DiBello said.
As for the $40 million economic-development package, DiBello said, "There may even be more if we can lay out a convincing argument."
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
