(Op-Ed) Duffy Takes Aim at HLS

I can't believe it's not satire! 

      NASA could end up as part of the DOT under acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy. The active Secretary of Transportation has decided that he would like to work less, and has signaled he is looking at bringing NASA into the existing Department of Transit; this marks what many fear to be an end to NASA scientific missions as a whole, in favor of manned exploration. Critics worry that he may abandon this role as well, marking a potential turn for the worse in what has already been a terrible, very bad, no good year for government spaceflight.

     Entrepreneur and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman looked to be a shoo-in earlier, but a falling out with the current presidential administration has soured his chances. Duffy has thus far been more in line with the Trump administration's expectations, which is why many are concerned both for his odds of nomination as well as his future plans. Trump has been vocal about his vision for NASA, which has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. He championed deep space exploration early in his first term, which was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Later efforts included a focus on commercial space programs, such as SpaceX's crew dragon, for missions to the ISS, and the development of nuclear thermal rockets. The second administration, however, has been a game of Russian roulette with a fully loaded gun, in which every existing space program within the borders of the United States has been forced to partake. Since he took office, he has overseen the attempted cancellation of several NASA science missions, the accelerated timeline to de-orbit otherwise functional satellites, the ending of NASA education programs, and the cutting of the Science Mission Directorate in half. 

     Proponents of Duffy claim his experience with the DOT qualify him to run NASA, which is arguably true if it is absorbed as he proposes. However, critics allege the only reason the Trump administration wants him in this role is to act as a partisan yes-man, aiding in the president's gutting of NASA, and the efforts to incorporate it into the DOT serve to dilute, weaken, and eventually dismantle it. 

      Back to yesterday, Duffy has stated his goal of opening up the HLS contract to outside competitors, with the intent of creating competition for the 2028 race to the moon against the Chinese. He suggested that Blue Origin may be able to produce a lander more quickly than SpaceX, highlighting the latter's recent timeline slips. Neither company has yet commented on the situation, but this story will be updated if they do so. In the meantime, it remains to be seen if the contract will actually be opened, or if this is another empty threat from a group that has been so hard to predict, they themselves may not know what is going on.