The White House's space plan -- not exactly John Kennedy-esque – calls for a commercialization of sub-orbital flights and a scaled back commitment to manned space exploration.

"Obama promised to close the gap between the Shuttle and the Constellation project. He's basically made that gap eternal. This is a giant leap backward," says an angry U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge.

Posey's ire is understandable. He represents the Space Coast, which is home to some 14,500 jobs at the Cape Canaveral complex. Officials estimate 7,000 positions could be lost under the Obama proposal.

While most NASA positions will likely be spared, the trickle-down effect of contractor layoffs could mean as many as 15,000 related jobs would be lost along the way. Factor in unrelated sectors -- think auto dealers, grocery stores, etc. -- and the regional ripples could impact as many as 40,000 Florida residents.

National Security Implications

"When Obama talks about other countries getting into space exploration, it seems like he's looking out for everyone's jobs except for those of the people who built this space program," Posey fumes.

But, Posey says his concern goes beyond provincialism.

"The bigger issue is that we're giving up the military high ground and eroding our national security," he notes.

Frank DiBello, president of Space Florida, says NASA & Co. amount to an $8-billion-a-year industry for Florida, which generates an indirect benefit of two-and-a-half to three times that amount.

Beyond the dollars, DiBello calls space "a proven industry catalyst for innovation."

Space Florida has identified 10 key areas for technical and commercial applications, ranging from cyber security and robotics to clean energy to adventure tourism.

The Obama administration appeared to acknowledge such benefits when it announced plans to broaden technology initiatives. The White House's proposed $100 billion outlay over the next five years represents a $6 billion increase to current spending.

Virginia Wins Funding

If Florida is a loser, one of the winners would appear to be a smaller barrier island off the Virginia coast. Last month, NASA increased the support contract to the Virginia Space Flight Authority/Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island to provide launch services for expendable launch vehicles.

Current and long-term capabilities of Wallops are being enhanced to provide launch services for small- and medium-class sub-orbital missions for NASA, other federal organizations and commercial ventures.

Wallops will be the launch site for the NASA Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Experiment Explorer mission aboard an Air Force Minotaur V rocket in late 2012. Wallops also will support processing and launches through the spaceport for commercial cargo re-supply services to the International Space Station with Orbital Sciences Corporation's Taurus II launch vehicle beginning in 2011.

Risking Innovation Edge

By canceling the Constellation project, which aimed for manned flights to the moon, the White House dulls America's technological edge, some experts say.

"Without an exploration goal, technology tends to flounder," DiBello says. "Without a bold leadership goal, we'll concede our advantage to other countries."

Then, there's the pennywise and pound-foolish aspect to Washington's downward spiral.

Depending on the Russians to shuttle astronauts to the International Space Station will ratchet up costs. Where Russia once set a transport charge of $30 million per astronaut, Moscow recently raised that fee to $51 million.

"What will it be after we abandon the Shuttle?" Posey muses.

Posey and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fort Lauderdale, are both wondering why the rush to jettison the Shuttle. They co-authored the American Space Access Act (HR 1962), which would continue funding for manned flights until the Ares program is up and running to replace the Shuttle.

"It was designed for 100 missions, and none has done more than 30," Posey notes.

Pelsosi Sinks Funding Bill

Thus far, Florida's congressional delegation has failed to make a convincing case on Capitol Hill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has said she's not a "big fan" of manned space flight, has bottled up HR 1962.

Even Florida's senior senator, Bill Nelson, who chairs the Senate Science and Space subcommittee and flew as a payload specialist on a 1986 manned space flight mission, seems powerless to get anything moving in the upper chamber.

“Let’s hope the commercial rockets work, but what I want to do is keep the research going to build a heavy lift vehicle,” the Melbourne Democrat said last month. "Now, the problem is the path that we were on; the rocket wasn’t going to be ready until 2018, so the administration had to try something new. But, it’s a choice between two bad choices."

Observers say Florida lacks political clout in Washington, because the state doesn’t have a veteran delegation -- in fact, its congressional members tend to come and go.

"Unlike other states, such as Alabama and Texas, Florida has a lot of turnover with little seniority. It's a divided delegation in need of strong leadership," said one observer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Space Coast's congressman, U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Melbourne, retired in 2008, making good, belatedly, on a pledge to limit his term in office.

Lawmakers at Odds in Solutions

Florida’s delegation has been unanimous in condemning the Obama administration’s cuts to the NASA budget, but they are not united in presenting alternative options.

While Posey, along with Democrats Wasserman Schultz and Susan Kosmas of New Smyrna Beach, is seeking to extend the Shuttle program until 2015, Nelson has opposed a continuation, citing safety concerns.

Appearing before Nelson's space subcommittee last month, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden testified the Obama administration intended to scrap the Bush administration’s plans to revive manned spaceflight to the moon, opting instead to focus on manned flights to Mars.

Although satisfied with Bolden’s revelation the new goal is to put a man on Mars, Nelson criticized the administration’s plans to terminate the Constellation program and pointed out the Space Coast would be impacted by this decision.

“A significant upheaval in this workforce related to shuttle retirement is going to occur,” Nelson stated.

Nelson advised Bolden to continue the Ares I rocket program as well as the development of a new heavy-launch vehicle.

Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fla., expressed concerns about the lack of detailed information about the Mars mission coming from NASA.

While LeMieux has called for manned space flights to either the moon or Mars, he has also demanded the Shuttle program be extended until 2016 and agreed with Kosmas that NASA needs a new heavy-lift launch program.

Bolden will be testifying before the House Science and Technology Committee and will be questioned by three Florida delegation members, including Kosmas, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Ballart, R-Fla., who serve on the committee.

Where’s the State on Space?

At the state level, Gov. Charlie Crist has been more focused on his Senate race than the race for space. Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, who chairs Florida's space ventures, has called for a more proactive approach. But, until recently, those pleas have been drowned out by concerns about the overall economy and unemployment -- ironic, in light of all the jobs at stake at the Kennedy Space Center.

Undaunted, Space Florida has set a goal to triple the state's annual space-related business to $24 billion by 2020.

DiBello notes whether it's manned flights or commercialized sub-orbital trips to the International Space Station, the Kennedy Space Center is best positioned for the job.

"We can do the assembly and the processing here. The supply chain is right here," he says.

By designating the space center as the "ground node" for the International Space Station, DiBello believes it will benefit from all aspects of space ventures – short- and long-term, commercial and governmental.

Dina Reider-Hicks, marketing director of the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, says the key is to diversify the region's economy.

"From military to electronics to high-tech manufacturing, the skills we have here are transferable. There's a potential gold mine of talent," Reider-Hicks says.
The EDC's recruitment efforts are global, she says, with solar-power ventures from Europe and Asian looking to establish a U.S. presence.

To support these initiatives, Crist last month proposed a $32.6 million investment fund to retain jobs and expand business at the Cape, along with $12.6 million for a technology and commerce park, including refurbishing Launch Complex 46.

Legislation sponsored by state Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, and state Sen. Thad Altman, R-Melbourne, would use state sales revenue from admission fees to Kennedy Space Center and appropriation funds to place aerospace workers in high-tech jobs.

Altman said the bill would help steer industry professionals toward projects concentrating on renewable energy, satellite processing and payload and vehicle integration projects.

“We want to bring more of that business here,” he said.

Altman is also sponsoring the Commercial Launch Zone Tax Incentive bill to provide tax credits for commercial flights against their income taxes for specific commercial spaceflight projects.

Altman said the bill would allow Florida to compete with other states that are cultivating the growing industry of commercial space flights.

Whatever resistance Florida's space program encounters in Washington, state lawmakers at least appear to have been awakened from their slumber.

"We have more support (at the Legislature) than we've ever seen," DiBello says. "Everything is aligned with Enterprise Florida, the state Chamber of Commerce and the Associated Industries of Florida."