Space Coast Loses A Vital Ally In Washington

It was bound to happen. U.S. Representative Dave Weldon announced he is going to retire and return to private life. NASA and the Space Coast will be losing a valuable ally in Washington.

Weldon, in his 7th term, holds a seat on the powerful Appropriations Committee. His position has enabled him to fight for space issues during critical times leading up to the initial assembly of the space station, during the aftermath of the Columbia accident and work to position Kennedy Space Center to move forward with Constellation.

His efforts have resulted in the preservation of necessary funding for the space center. He helped KSC secure the role as the site for final assembly of the Orion spacecraft. More recently, he proposed legislation to give NASA a $10 billion increase in funding in order to eliminate the now-infamous "gap" in human launch capability between the shuttle and Orion.

A number of Republicans have expressed interest in running for Weldon's seat, and most of them are supporters of space exploration. Unfortunately, regardless of how supportive any freshman Congressman may be, the Space Coast will lose Weldon's seniority, and influence, during the most critical time for NASA and the space industry since the early 1970's.

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Rep. Weldon's SPACE Act: http://weldon.house.gov/space_act/