Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have released their plans for what they would do with the space program if they were elected. WESH 2 News is comparing Trump and Clinton’s ideas on the key Central Florida issue of spaceflight. Trump wants big changes for NASA, which his campaign said has become little more than a logistics agency supporting the space station. Clinton, in plans recently released by campaign aides, wants a NASA with steady budgets that drive innovation on Earth. Trump’s advisors said in a statement that “human exploration of our entire solar system by the end of this century should be NASA’s focus and goal.” That goes far beyond NASA’s plan to send people to Mars in the 2030s. Clinton’s campaign, on the other hand, makes a carefully worded statement calling Mars a “consensus horizon goal.” The statement does not say if Clinton is part of the consensus. Clinton’s plan keeps NASA part of the effort to “tackle the urgent threat of climate change,” aides said, while Trump’s campaign turns up its nose at what it calls “politically correct environmental monitoring.” The new plans are something space backers have been waiting to hear. “We know on the Space Coast that we need to maintain this cutting-edge for our future,” said Lorraine Koss of the Space Coast League of Women Voters. Both candidates indicate spaceflight will undergo a substantial period of study once a new administration takes over. That can set back the space agency’s target dates a few years.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have released their plans for what they would do with the space program if they were elected.

WESH 2 News is comparing Trump and Clinton’s ideas on the key Central Florida issue of spaceflight.


Trump wants big changes for NASA, which his campaign said has become little more than a logistics agency supporting the space station.

Clinton, in plans recently released by campaign aides, wants a NASA with steady budgets that drive innovation on Earth.

Trump’s advisors said in a statement that “human exploration of our entire solar system by the end of this century should be NASA’s focus and goal.” That goes far beyond NASA’s plan to send people to Mars in the 2030s.

Clinton’s campaign, on the other hand, makes a carefully worded statement calling Mars a “consensus horizon goal.” The statement does not say if Clinton is part of the consensus.

Clinton’s plan keeps NASA part of the effort to “tackle the urgent threat of climate change,” aides said, while Trump’s campaign turns up its nose at what it calls “politically correct environmental monitoring.”

The new plans are something space backers have been waiting to hear.

“We know on the Space Coast that we need to maintain this cutting-edge for our future,” said Lorraine Koss of the Space Coast League of Women Voters.

Both candidates indicate spaceflight will undergo a substantial period of study once a new administration takes over. That can set back the space agency’s target dates a few years.