WORLDTECHRep. Mike Haridopolos on NASA’s Future After the Blue Wave
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The rub has been a bit where the Democrats [on] the science committee want to spend a little bit more on environmental programs. Mike Haridopolos survived the Blue Wave—and he’s optimistic bipartisan support for NASA’s Artemis program means the program will survive the political upheaval on Capitol Hill as well.
The space subcommittee chair spoke with Payload on the sidelines of the UP.Summit at KSC about why he thinks NASA’s funding and the Artemis schedule can weather a Democratic House, and why he isn’t sweating a launch crunch. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
But the American public’s very frustrated right now, and they let it out. When the president first came back in office, there was potential for a 40% cut to NASA.
This Congress has shown the commitment to space, and this is a bipartisan issue. There’s the water there, potentially, and the sunlight that hits it allows you to have an immediate energy source on the Moon.
So if the private sector wants to accelerate, where they don’t have to wait on government timelines, they can build those launch pads or the infrastructure needed at these different facilities. Obviously, [Democrats] might not love the politics of [SpaceX CEO] Elon Musk, but the Artemis program is not about the politics of Elon Musk.