What's the course for NASA and Space Industry for 2017?
As 2017 kicks off, it will be a new era for NASA and the Space industry, as President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. As president, Trump will nominate a NASA administrator and will be tasked with setting a budget for the space program, which will then have to be approved by Congress.
The current proposed budget for NASA in 2017 is $19 billion — down $300 million from the previous year but still an improvement from the past decade, which saw the end of the space shuttle program.
President-elect Donald Trump will step into his new role during a pivotal time for future space endeavors, as well, with NASA setting its sights on a Mars mission in the 2030s and preparing to end its dependence on Russia for rides to the International Space Station.
Whomever Trump nominates could set the tone for the future of the space program, including how NASA partners with the commercial space industry, according to Jim Cantrell, CEO of Vector Space Systems and a founding member of SpaceX.