Why has NASA's Budget Remained the Same Year after Year? It may be Because Commercial Space Companies are Stepping Up and NASA will become more like the FAA.

Mike Pence Uses SpaceX Achievements to Knock NASA

Vice President Mike Pence praised the successful launch of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket during the second meeting of the National Space Council Wednesday, all while knocking government organizations like NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration. "While American industry and technology have leaped towards the future, our government agencies too often have remained stuck in the past," said Pence, who is the head of the council. 

From article, (“While American industry and technology have leaped towards the future, our government agencies too often have remained stuck in the past,” said Pence, who is the head of the council.

Pence’s keynote at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center made it clear that under his leadership the council will prioritize setting up private aerospace industries to succeed, rather than bolstering agencies like NASA with funding.

NASA received a measly increase of 2.6 percent, a figure barely more than the 2017 inflation rate of 2.1 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.After Wednesday’s National Space Council meeting that became abundantly clear.

These marginal spending increases seemed counterintuitive, especially after President Donald Trump signed Space Policy Directive 1, which ordered NASA to help facilitate sending humans back to the Moon an on to Mars. Given the relative lack of investment in NASA itself, the Trump administration’s directive would appear to push the agency toward strengthening its ties with the aerospace private sector, like SpaceX.)

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