NASA News
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
John C. Stennis Space Center
(228) 688-3341 March 11, 2004 Paul Foerman FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000
STS-04-019
NASA News Chief
(228) 688-3341
PRESIDENT’S NEW VISION ALL ABOUT DESTINY
Admiral Thomas Q. Donaldson V, USN (Ret.) has served as center director of NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC) since Jan. 5, 2004. SSC is where all Space Shuttle Main Engines are tested and proven flight-worthy.
For three years prior to joining NASA, Donaldson was Commander of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command headquartered at SSC.
OP-ED
By Rear Adm. Thomas Q. Donaldson V (U.S. Navy, Retired) NASA Stennis Space Center Director
President Bush has unveiled a powerful new exploration vision for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It is a vision that stirs the fires of America’s imagination. The fundamental goal of our new space policy is to advance science, security and economic interests through a robust space exploration program. As the President said, “we are embarking on a journey, not a race.” Activities will be paced by experience, technology readiness and affordability. Our journey begins on Earth, then returns us to the Moon – by 2020. From there, taking one stepping stone at a time, we will venture to Mars and beyond, extending our presence across our solar system. This journey will expand human knowledge and revolutionize our understanding of the Universe. Already, technological advances and economic prosperity have made giant leaps, illustrating daily how space affects our lives and showing us that life on Earth would not be the same without space exploration. If it weren’t for space science research, meteorologists wouldn’t be able to track the precise paths of killer storms that regularly threaten people here on the Gulf Coast. We would not have wireless communications or satellite television. Some deadly heart ailments would go undiagnosed and untreated. Firefighters would not benefit from advances in equipment like the “Jaws of Life” that help save lives and property. Cordless power tools, computer bar codes, smoke detectors and quartz watches all originated from NASA research. NASA will continue to work on improvements in these fields and many others to ensure our health and pre-eminence as a nation. Recognizing that machines, with their intelligence, and people, with their judgment, need each other in space, NASA will refocus its efforts in robotics research to fulfill the President’s space exploration mission. Robotic exploration, like what we are seeing by the two rovers roaming the Martian surface, is just the beginning. More robots will blaze trails to help us establish a sustained presence on planets across the solar system.
NASA intends to conduct this man-and-machine approach to the exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond in a methodical and financially responsible manner. Money spent on the space program stimulates our economy by providing jobs and developing commercial applications for space-driven technologies. The current and projected budget of NASA will remain less than 1 percent of the federal budget. We will invite others in our journey, soliciting the partnership of other nations, engaging them in commercial ventures to promote economic and scientific interests. We will develop technologies, accumulate knowledge and build infrastructures to support decisions about further exploration. We will perpetuate America’s legacy of exploration. This country was forged from one of the greatest voyages of discovery in human history and it has continued to engender the spirit of exploration in its sons and daughters – people like Orville and Wilbur Wright, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Chuck Yeager, Sally Ride and Neil Armstrong. We will inspire a new generation of students to study math, science, engineering and technology. We will remove the terrestrial limits on their aspirations. President Bush’s vision for America’s space program links our future to our past. It provides us a doable, affordable means to maintain our leadership in space exploration and technology innovation. It improves our lives and lifts our national spirit. Sincerely,
Thomas Q. Donaldson V, Center Director
NASA Stennis Space Center
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News releases provided by NASA’s Stennis Space Center are available at https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ssc/news/newsreleases/2004. For more information, call the NASA Public Affairs Office at Stennis at 1-800-237-1821 in Mississippi and Louisiana only, or (228) 688-3341.
2004 News Releases