New NSS Position Paper
The National Space Society has just published a position paper: Time to Off-Ramp the Space Launch System Solid Rocket Boosters and Save an Asteroid Mission Important to Science and Humanity.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Assuming that an off-ramp from the Space Launch System is desirable, as NSS and much of the space community agree, the logical place for this off-ramp lies with the enhanced Solid Rocket Boosters planned to support Artemis 9, currently scheduled for 2034, nine years in the future. The amount of funds saved by timely cancelation of the enhanced SRBs would fund many on-going NASA science missions that are currently targeted for immediate cancellation.
The National Space Society urges that these on-going science missions targeted for cancelation in the 2026 budget should be given the highest priority for full funding, in particular the OSIRIS-APEX mission, which could for minimal additional cost visit the near-Earth asteroid Apophis, on a mission to improve our knowledge of dangerous asteroids so that we can better protect the Earth.
Zeroed out on-going missions especially deserving of continued funding include Mars Odyssey, MAVEN, New Horizons, Juno, Hinode, IBEX, Wind, and Chandra, in addition to OSIRIS-APEX.
The National Space Society calls on Congress to make this choice, and others like it, now.
Image of Artemis I Pre-flight: NASA/Joel Kowsky
