Latest news with #AlexMacDonald
Time of India
05-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
How NASA fund cuts offer a chance for transformation
NASA is facing an unprecedented budget crisis that threatens to reshape the agency dramatically. The White House's fiscal year 2026 'skinny' budget proposal, released in May 2025, calls for a nearly $6 billion cut about 25% less than NASA's 2025 funding. Science programs face the harshest blow with a proposed 50% reduction. Traditional pillars like the Space Launch System (SLS), Orion spacecraft, and the Gateway lunar outpost are set to be phased out or cancelled after the Artemis 3 mission. While these cuts spark concern, many experts see this moment as a rare opportunity to transform NASA into a leaner, more agile agency that can thrive in a new era of space exploration. Historic scale of NASA fund cuts and their impact The scale of these cuts is historic. Adjusted for inflation, NASA's funding would revert to levels seen in the early 1960s, before the Apollo program. This level of reduction inevitably threatens thousands of jobs potentially up to 30,000 civil servants and contractors and imperils longstanding programs. The science division, responsible for some of NASA's most high-profile missions, faces the largest reductions, with key projects like Mars Sample Return cancelled and others like NEO Surveyor in uncertain limbo. Space technology efforts critical to future lunar and Mars exploration are also slated for sharp cuts. Uncertainty surrounding human spaceflight and the ISS Despite the severity, NASA's leadership has been cautious, awaiting full budget details to understand which missions might survive. The International Space Station (ISS), a symbol of international collaboration, faces cuts that could reduce crew size and accelerate retirement plans. More fundamentally, the budget signals that NASA will likely no longer operate human-rated spacecraft within five years, relying entirely on commercial providers for crew transport and exploration. Challenges of a fully commercialised human spaceflight future This potential 'commercialization' of human spaceflight raises questions about NASA's identity and public support. However, it also reflects a strategic shift that some argue NASA must embrace to remain competitive, particularly with China's expanding lunar ambitions. Experts like Alex MacDonald of CSIS and Dan Dumbacher of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics highlight the risk of workforce erosion and industrial base losses similar to those seen after Apollo and the Space Shuttle programs. Reinventing NASA through commercial partnerships Yet, amid this crisis lies opportunity. Many voices in the space community emphasize that NASA's traditional model is due for reform. The agency's bureaucratic inertia and risk aversion have hampered agility and innovation. Leveraging commercial partnerships more deeply, as NASA did during the successful COTS program that birthed SpaceX's cargo missions, could enable faster, cheaper, and more sustainable exploration. Envisioning a lunar COTS model and international collaboration Peter Garretson of the American Foreign Policy Council envisions a future where NASA acts as a central mission planner, outsourcing infrastructure development and operations to private firms through incentive-driven programs. This 'lunar COTS' model could stimulate new industry growth, keep international partners engaged by shifting focus to lunar surface contributions, and streamline NASA's core functions. Turning crisis into long-term success In sum, while the proposed 2026 budget presents severe challenges, it forces NASA to confront an urgent question: what should the agency look like for the next half-century? The difficult decisions ahead could break NASA free from outdated paradigms, enabling it to innovate, collaborate, and lead human space exploration in a more sustainable and impactful way. As MacDonald puts it, 'There is a new NASA that can emerge one that leverages commercial capabilities, operates leaner, and continues to do amazing things.' NASA's budget crisis, though painful, may be the catalyst for transformation the agency needs to remain a space exploration pioneer in the 21st century.
The Journal
31-05-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Ireland should build a space centre, former NASA chief economist suggests
SPACE TRAVEL IS going to become a trillion dollar industry, and Ireland should think about how it could get a piece of it. That's according to the former chief economist for Nasa, Alex MacDonald, who says Ireland is uniquely placed to join the modern-day space race, thanks to close links to America and the fact that we're an English speaking nation. MacDonald, who helped establish the US space agency's Mars to Moon strategy , said opening a small space centre for research could help Irish businesses creating new technologies to gain access to the American market. 'Just like AI, it's another technology domain that Ireland can make a policy choice about,' MacDonald said. 'The total space economy is probably on the order of $600 to $700 billion a year around the world. That's likely to grow significantly to over a trillion dollars over the next decade. 'Space as a policy tool area can be applied to almost whatever it is that you think is important.' Advertisement Ireland has nearly doubled its investment in the European Space Agency in recent years, going from €21.31 million in 2018 to €40.28 million in 2024. MacDonald said knowledge gleaned from space exploration can contribute towards research on issues like climate change and agriculture. He said there are ways Ireland has contributed to space exploration already and the idea that the Irish 'don't really do that sort of thing' is wrong. The Great Telescope at Birr Castle in Offaly was used in the 1800s to discover that some galaxies have a spiral shape, and the Rosse Observatory at the Co Offaly site is still used by Trinity College to study radio emissions from astronomical objects, such as the Sun. More recently, in 2023, researchers at University College Dublin launched the EIRSAT-1 satellite, costing €7.9 million, the country's largest investment in a space project . Pupils from DEIS schools helped write a poem that was carved into the side of the spacecraft, which is still in orbit. MacDonald says incorporating history and the arts into how we learn about space exploration could help people connect with it. Ireland, he says, could work towards becoming a world leader in astronomy, and 'have independent missions, maybe even in cooperation with other space agencies around the world'. MacDonald was speaking at the Global Economic Summit in Killarney, where politicians, businesspeople and tech experts met to discuss a range of modern-day challenges, from artifical intelligence to space warfare. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Rotherham forward Green among four released
Rotherham United have released Andre Green, Alex MacDonald, Dillon Phillips and Jake Hull following the conclusion of the 2024-25 League One 26, joined from Slovan Bratislava in 2023 but made just 26 appearances during an injury-hit two seasons with the 35, made 19 Millers appearances, having joined from Stevenage last Phillips, 29, turned out 35 times for the club this term while 23-year-old Hull made just five senior appearances and has previously spent time on loan with Guiseley, Hartlepool, Boston United and the club have offered new contracts to Hakeem Odoffin, Cameron Humphreys, Hamish Douglas, Joshua Kayode and Ciaran pair Odoffin and Humphreys made 52 and 46 appearances respectively for the club this club also said they had exercised contract options on Jack Holmes, Ben Hatton and Josh Ayres for the 2025-26 campaign.
