Election watch

What to Watch on Election Night

Astronaut Kate Rubins voting in the ISS’ “voting booth” in 2020. But did she get her sticker? Image: NASA

Americans are going to the polls today to elect the slate of leaders that will likely be in office when NASA is targeting returning astronauts to the lunar surface, which would be in 2028 or so.

If you’re anything like me, election night is a time for tracking exit polls, early returns, and races that are too close to call. Here are the top things I’ll be paying attention to over my election-night pizza—a cheat sheet of what to watch as it relates to space.

Top of the ticket: My top pick for space is an important topic for all election watchers—whether Democrats are able to take control of the House and Senate.

Democrats taking control of Congress is unlikely to dramatically impact NASA’s topline budget during the next two years. After all, lawmakers have acted in a bipartisan way to boost the space agency’s budget above the Trump administration’s request. And if Dems are in charge, efforts surrounding STEM outreach and space science could be in for even bigger increases.

However, it’s unclear what a Democratic Congress would do with funding for Golden Dome, which has so far relied on passing reconciliation bills outside of the normal budgeting process. That process has made funding for the program highly political—and something Democrats are unlikely to continue if they are in control.

Rocky mountain high stakes: One of Congress’ most vocal supporters for military space is locked in a tight race. Now in his first term, Rep. Jeff Crank (R-CO) is up against Democrat Jessica Killin.

Crank, who represents a national security space hub in Colorado Springs, has led a handful of initiatives over the past two years, including:

• Co-sponsoring bills to boost cooperation in space with Quad allies, and establish a Space National Guard.
• Creating and co-leading the House Golden Dome Caucus.

Lone star race: Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico are locked in a tight race to become the next US senator from Texas, replacing Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who lost his primary race.

While Cornyn wasn’t a prominent space supporter on Capitol Hill, whoever wins the race will represent a significant chunk of the nation’s space community, including JSC, SpaceX’s Starbase facility, and other commercial space companies that call Texas home.

Fresh faces: There are at least three candidates on the ballot who have some space history in their employment history. There’s no guarantee they would serve on a space-focused committee if they win, but I’ll still be watching how these races go:

• Chris Jones, a Democrat running in Arkansas’ 2nd District, received a NASA scholarship for college and has a master’s in nuclear engineering and technology policy from MIT.
• Jason Gibbs, a Republican running in California’s 27th District, worked on the Delta II, Delta IV, and Atlas V rockets, according to his bio.
• Justin Wagner, a Democrat running in Pennsylvnia’s 16th District, worked as an automation engineer at organizations including NASA, according to his bio.