Tue, Jul 12, 2011
CEO Blakey Calls For Continued Government Investment In
Aerospace
The Aerospace Industries Association has congratulated NASA on a
remarkable record of achievement marked by the successful launch of
the final space shuttle flight. Over the past thirty years, the
space shuttle has had soaring successes including sending more than
350 astronauts from 20 nations into space, servicing the Hubble
Space Telescope, linking up with the Mir Space Station of our
former Soviet adversaries and building the International Space
Station.
"The space shuttle has been an amazing American success story
and a tribute to the men and women of NASA and the aerospace
industry," said AIA President and CEO Marion C. Blakey (pictured,
above). "We need to honor the shuttle's legacy by continuing to
invest in our future."
The association says that discontinuing shuttle launches in this
difficult economy means the end of jobs for many of those in the
workforce and potentially the loss of a vital national capability.
To mitigate the risk to our nation's space workforce and industrial
base, AIA says NASA needs steady funding as it works to develop new
systems to assure independent U.S. crew access to the ISS and
beyond.
According to a recent opinion poll by the Pew Research Center,
58 percent of Americans agreed it was "essential" that the United
States lead the world in space exploration. Large majorities said
that the "space program has helped encourage interest in science,
led to scientific advances and contributed to feelings of
patriotism."
"It's worth recalling that in 1972, when the shuttle program was
approved, the war in Vietnam was raging and our nation was on the
verge of both stagflation and the energy crisis," Blakey said. "Our
leaders at the time wisely continued to invest in developing the
shuttle and these investments have paid off handsomely. NASA
comprises less than one half of one percent of the federal budget,
yet it's an enormous benefit to our nation."
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