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Franklin Knox Jr.

Connie S. Douglas
ENG 112 56
20 October 2016

A Future Decision:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is a program that handles the
United State (US) scientific airplanes or space discovers. NASA was founded in 1956 as part of
the US government. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration does many things, such
as, build satellites, send probes in to outer space, and asteroids as well. NASA does all these
things to run test and learn more about space in hope to bring more information back to earth to
make life better on earth. Besides making life on Earth better NASAs main goal has been
spaceflight since the begin of its founding. The Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs helped
NASA learn a great deal about human space travel. Especially the Apollo program seeing that it
was the first program to land the first man on the moon in 1969.
NASA has been a great contributor to life on Earth. The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration has helped computer science giving a great deal of advancements to computers.
Not only has NASA benefited the world with computers but also cell phones as well. NASA has
engineered better cameras and smaller and better batteries for smart phones that the world has
fallen in love with. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration also invented mass data
distribution which is heavily used today by all plate forms; such as, computers, gaming consuls,

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and cell phones. NASA has been able to engineer all these amazing things and more simple off
of a thirty billion dollar budget.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been funded by the government
for many years now. Now that there have been many other world crises, such as, Climate Change
and large scale wars, the US finds the need to use funding going to NASA, in other places. Over
the past decade, the US government has been slowly pulling back on NASA funding. If the
government no longer funds NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration could
close and years of work would be either lost or set back. This event could be a benefit or a
downfall using the US tax money in another place other than NASA. There are many voices that
have a say in the funding of NASA; the main three are the government, third party funders and
the average citizens each will be represented.
The government has founded and been supporting the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration for sixty years. Slowly, the US government has been pulling its interest in NASA
slowly by lowing the NASA budge every day. NASA currently has a $2.1 billion yearly budget
(Prince, 2002) that the government gives NASA to reach their main goal. The problem is
NASAs goal of reaching Mars and space travel is not the governments main objective. The
government is currently focusing on things; such as, US treats and climate change. It would seem
that the neverending space race might actual have an ending.
The government has given NASA a secondary option to continue being funded. The
government has offered NASA the option to do small launchers (Berger, 2016). These mini
launches are for launching small satellites. The government has a large interest in this project and
would like NASA to follow through with it. That is not such a bad thing... except more than half
a dozen companies have already invested private capital in such small launchers. (Berger, p. 2).

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The only problem with the small launches for NASA is it puts the main reason NASA was
founded on hold. Not only does it interfere with NASAs main goal but NASA could be altered
and changed based on which investor is over them at the time. It would seem that NASA in stuck
in a rock and a hard place but never the less they have a way out.
Privatizing is one way for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to find
funding but continue its goal of space travel. Privatization is when a company or organization is
no longer owned by the government. In privatization, the government no longer supports that
compony, but instead is owned and supported by a person or a board. Privatization can be very
benefiting to the company that is being privatized. Privatization gives the company more
freedom and less rules and regulations.
There are a couple forms of privatization from outright sale of government's entire stake,
to partial sale, to concessions, leases, and management contracts, to the hiving off and sale of
non-core business activities, to the opening of previously restricted sectors to new private
entrants and competitorst (Nellis, pp. 3-7). Each form of privatization means different levels of
government help in the proses of moving such a company like NASA to privatization. In the past
twenty five years, thousands of government owned companies have become privatized. These
thousands of companies have broken from the government control and all together producing
four hundred billion in US sales (Nellis, p. 3). NASA could soon be one of these thousands of
organizational firms.
If NASA is privatized there will be pros and con to the privatization. One pro to
privatizing NASA is NASA can finally proceed with developing ways to put a man or woman on
Mars. A second pro is NASA will have more freedom to develop outside projects like faster
computers, better date systems, and safer cars. The cons of this process is mainly centered

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around the upper management of NASA. If NASA becomes privatized than the companies
supporting NASAs funding have a say in their operation. For example, NASA could be funded
by Apple for one million dollars Apple would expect something in return for the investment.
Apple could ask for many things; such as, the Apple logo on a rocket ship to NASA working on
the next IPhone. These extra supporters could change the focus of NASA simply by investing in
NASA at the right price.
The last voice that takes part in the future of NASA is the voice of the people. The
peoples voice splits up in to two voices those two voices are workers for NASA, and the average
tax paying citizens. The average tax paying citizen can range from eighteen all the way to one
hundred plus. Research has shown that the Americas viewpoint on NASA is greatly affected
based on age and gender of the citizen. Ages eighteen to thirty-four are more focused on the idea
of human excellence and or the environmental issues around them (Professional Services Close Up, 2013 ). This generation, which the eighteen and thirty four years old would fall under, would
have grown up where climate change and human excellence would have been greatly pushed.
Ages fifty five and up, who grew up in the time of the first space race, have a much stronger
push for NASA to be funded by the government (Professional Services Close - Up, 2013 ).
In 2014, a survey was done on NASAs sixteen billion dollar budget, the lows it has been
since 2007. Thirty-eight percent said that the budget was to low and needed to be raised twenty
three thought it was too high and needed to be lower. When they split the votes by gender, they
found that men, who voted at forty seven percent, were greatly in favor of NASA more than
women, who voted at twenty nine percent. It is interesting how the American people feel about
NASA, but as later generation come and go that push for space exploration slowly dies.

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NASA researchers like Giovanni Bignami, who was chairman of the ESA Space Science
Advisory Committee in 2003 to 2006, has noticed the decrease in interested of space in this
generation. Current NASA workers see that the new generation does not see the future as past
generations. As the millennium turned, I saw that the already ageing International Space Station
was not enough. You can't sell the future, especially in a time of crisis, on something that is
decades old. You need a new mission to spark enthusiasm - such as sending people to Mars
(Bignami, 2009). NASA works see that to get funding back from the government they need the
American peoples support. This is hard for NASA with their budget changing every year now.
As shown in the polls, in the survey on the American view point on NASA, the American people
want a spark from NASA. NASAs small budget is what is holding NASA back from giving it to
the people of America.
In conclusion, NASA has many voices that take part in its funding crises. Each voices
could change nothing or change everything about NASA. The government could make NASA
smaller or end its existents. Privatization could give NASA freedom but also changes it views
and goals based on investment. The average citizen can vote for where hes or her tax money is
going to but also not support NASA in other ways; such as, TV views and merchandise. It is sad
that NASA has come to this, but with other things involving the US, the American people have
lost sight of the stars.

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Works Cited
Berger, E. (2016, May 12). One small stip(ulation) for NASA, one giant burden for exploration:
A Senator who dislikes SpaceX seems to find home state rockets more to his liking. p. 2.
Retrieved October 18, 2016
Bignami, G. (2009, Jul 16). Why we need space travel. Retrieved October 13, 2016
Nellis, J. (2007). Privatization: A Summary Assessment. The SAIS Review of International
Affairs, 27(2), pp. 3-7,10-29. Retrieved 10 18, 2016
Prince, F. A. (2002, July 7). Why NASA's management doesn't believe the cost estimate. p. 6.
Retrieved September 9, 2016
Professional Services Close - Up. (2013 , 12 11). YouGov Omnibus: 94% of Americans Believe
that NASA and the US Space Program should be maintained and 8 percent think it should
be Fully Publicly Funded. Retrieved September 1, 2016