Letter to President Trump - Continue to Support Space Exploration

Letter

Dear President Trump,

For the first time in nearly 50 years of human space exploration, since man last walked on the moon in 1972, interplanetary destinations -- including the moon, moons of Mars, and Mars itself -- are within reach of American astronauts. American-led exploration of deep space is vital to inspiring our future innovators and growing our economy through technological innovation and development. Today, NASA and its industry partners are currently building the infrastructure that will extend human presence into deep space, including the Space Launch System (SLS), the Orion Spacecraft, as well as the Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) that will support these unique deep space assets.

SLS is the largest and most powerful rocket the world has ever seen and can provide our astronauts with a capability that is simply unmatched by any other system under development today. This increased lifting power and range will open doors to exploration of our solar system so America can continue to lead human advances in space. While SLS will provide the power to push American astronauts further than any human has ever traveled, the Orion spacecraft is how they will safely arrive at their deep space destinations.

Orion is the most technologically advanced spacecraft built and is the only spacecraft capable of taking humans to multiple destinations in deep space and returning them safely back to Earth. Orion is capable of supporting 1,000 day missions, giving NASA the moon, Mars, and everything in between. We are proud of the successful test flight of Orion on December 5, 2014, and are confident that SLS and Orion will continue on the path of success in EM-1, the first test flight of both systems. In order to maintain momentum toward preparedness for this flight test and eventually realize full mission capability, it is vital to provide SLS, Orion, and the EGS with the resources necessary to ensure infrastructure is in place for EM-1. It is impossible to push the limits of human exploration into deep space without the appropriate ground systems on Earth.

Across the country, hundreds of suppliers and small businesses have been simultaneously designing, building, and testing the programs that will secure our nation's leadership in space for decades to come. We believe SLS, Orion, and EGS are the cornerstone of our nation's human space exploration enterprise and a source of national pride. We also recognize the critical contributions of the more than ten thousand Americans working at supplier companies in every state building key components for these new systems and request your continued support of SLS, Orion, and the EGS.