Trump promises NASA expansion as he chases Florida

by Ben Kamisar - 10/25/16 4:54 PM ET

Donald Trump promised that his administration will “lead the way to the stars” by refocusing NASA back on space exploration.

The GOP nominee spoke Tuesday from Sanford, Fla., an hour drive from Kennedy Space Center, and lamented the direction of the current space program.

{mosads}”The Obama Clinton administration has undermined our space program tremendously,” Trump said.

“That will change.”

President Obama’s administration announced its major space policy in 2010 to mixed reviews from legendary astronauts like Buzz Aldrin, who supported it, and Neil Armstrong, who disagreed with the president.

It cancelled a handful of programs while researching and developing a new rocket, and focused in part on augmenting the work at the International Space Station. The program represented an overall increase to the NASA budget, according to Discover Magazine, but much of that would be devoted to research.

Republicans, particularly those from states such as Florida and Texas that host NASA offices and launch sites, have criticized Obama for curbing human exploration.

Looking to win over the crowd, Trump promised a greater investment in NASA in his administration, promising an expansion of public-private partnerships “to maximize the amount of investment and funding that is available for space exploration and development.”

“This means launching and operating major space assets right here that employ thousands, spur innovation, and fuel economic growth,” he said.

“I will free NASA from the restriction of serving primarily as a logistics agency for low-Earth orbit activity,” he said, before mocking low-Earth orbit as a “big deal.”

“Instead, we will refocus its mission on space exploration,” Trump added.

Trump currently trails Clinton in Florida by a margin of 3 percentage points, according to RealClearPolitics’ average of recent polling.

Tags Donald Trump