As we head toward the Presidential Election on November 4th, precious little has been said by any of the major Party candidates about the future of U.S. Space Policy. Of the three candidates, Hillary Clinton has provided the most detailed policy position thus far. Yet it increasingly appears that she will not be the Democratic Party nominee. This leaves Barack Obama to consider. Mr. Obama has expressed overall support for keeping America at the forefront of space exploration and he has specifically stated that if elected he will continue to back the development of the Ares I Launch Vehicle and the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV). Ominously for cash-strapped NASA, however, Mr. Obama has also hinted that he would divert some agency funding into math and science education in order to help train the next generation of America's scientists and engineers.

For his part, Republican candidate John McCain has taken a "carrot and stick" approach. Senator McCain supports continuing to fund NASA at levels seen in recent years. This is not bad news, although NASA's funding has been insufficient for even its current missions, not to mention any planned future programs. McCain has also expressed the belief that maintaining a strong U.S. space program is desirable for national security and for maintaining America's lead in technological innovation. This said, McCain has also waved a big stick at NASA, stating that future funding will be dependent on responsible management and stricter Congressional oversight.

Regardless of who wins the next presidential election, NASA personnel have to be nervous about the future. The ballooning federal budget deficit and increasing failure of the American educational system to provide the skilled personnel required by NASA do not paint a rosy picture for the years to come. In the meantime, NASA faces pressing immediate needs. Critical programs, like Ares I, are falling further and further behind schedule due to budget shortfalls even as the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2010 looms ahead.

NASA's response to tightening federal budgets has been to consolidate its agency-wide IT structure to gain efficiency, reduce costs, and take advantage of economies of scale. So, vendors who win contracts for major acquisitions like NASA UNITeS, ODIN Desktop Services, and Goddard Unified Enterprise Services and Technology will be ideally placed to benefit from NASA's IT focus. Finally, regarding the Space Program, it would not be surprising if retirement of the Shuttle is postponed by one to two years, meaning that some current Shuttle support contracts could be extended (or new short-term support contracts could be competed) in order to operate the Shuttle fleet beyond its official retirement date. The recent emergency Shuttle launch to replace the only commode on the International Space Station demonstrates how important the Space Shuttle is to NASA.

One thing about NASA remains sure even if the presidential candidates remain vague about the future of U.S. space policy. This is that budget pressure and human capital shortages mean industry will have to play a key role in NASA's mission success in the coming years. NASA's place in presidential politics may be "lost in space" for the time being, but industry's importance to the future success of U.S. space policy will remain firmly on the ground.