Another Trump Trip To The Cape, At Least $1.1 Million More In Costs For Taxpayers
WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump is heading back to Florida on Saturday to watch a space launch, a trip that will cost taxpayers at least another $1.1 million and may potentially add pressure on NASA officials to lift off in marginal conditions ― but it will almost certainly give Trump some cool video footage for campaign ads.
Trump already attended Wednesday’s initial launch attempt for SpaceX’s very first flight of its Crew Dragon capsule intended to carry two astronauts to the International Space Station. He had been scheduled to deliver a speech after liftoff but left immediately to fly back to Washington after the launch was called off because of bad weather.
He vowed a return on the flight back to Joint Base Andrews: “Thank you to @NASA and @SpaceX for their hard work and leadership. Look forward to being back with you on Saturday!”
The forecast for Saturday afternoon’s launch time again includes a chance of poor weather, including rain and thunderclouds in the area.
On Wednesday, Trump’s presence did not prevent launch managers from scrubbing the launch. However, NASA has historically been aware that the attendance of top-level political officials can add subtle pressure to launch even when conditions are not optimal. There has also been an awareness through the years that the presence of the president can complicate matters if there is an emergency or accident.
In almost six decades of human spaceflight, presidents have attended launches only twice: In 1998, when Bill Clinton was on hand for a space shuttle launch that included former Mercury astronaut John Glenn, and in 1969, when Richard Nixon attended the launch of Apollo 12 (that flight nearly ended in disaster when the Saturn 5 rocket was struck by lightning triggered by its own ionized exhaust).
No president has ever attended the inaugural flight of any crewed vehicle ― not John F. Kennedy for Mercury-Redstone 3, not Lyndon Johnson for Gemini 3 or Apollo 7, not Ronald Reagan...
