Mitre provides update on space race for the next president

NEWS AND OPINION:

The White House should not overlook the complex opportunities and challenge of space now and in the future, according to a new “Presidential Transition: Priority Topic Memo” released by Mitre, a nonprofit group established in 1958 and focused on national security, aerospace, artificial intelligence and more.

The memo is titled “Making Space Vibrant and Resilient” — which has a ring to it.

“The U.S. commercial space industry is a cornerstone for economic growth, technological innovation, and national security. Currently, the U.S. space economy generates over $211 billion in gross output and employs 360,000 Americans. Deliberate investment in commercial space activities has driven down launch costs, making space accessible to a diverse range of users and sparking innovation. U.S. satellite manufacturing leads the global market and is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of over 13% through 2030. However, this success also brings new actors, technologies, competition, and risks, making the space environment increasingly complex,” the memo said.

“The United States’ reliance on space-based systems is a double-edged sword. While these systems fuel our economy, security, and lifestyle, they also create vulnerabilities to malicious attacks, natural phenomena, and routine failures. Adversaries like Russia and China have developed advanced counter-space weapons, viewing U.S. assets as vulnerable targets. A resilient approach, leveraging both public and commercial resources, is essential to mitigate these threats and ensure diverse, redundant, and resilient space capabilities. The line between government and commercial capabilities has blurred, with each increasingly dependent on the other,” the memo said.

Find the group — and much research — at mitre.org.

THE TRUMP ITINERARY

Former President Donald Trump is in full travel mode. He hosted a rally at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta on Monday. Then it’s off to Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday and Rocky Mount, North Carolina, on Wednesday.

The Republican presidential nominee will have plenty to talk about.

“Tar Heel State residents are feeling the pain of Kamala Harris and the Democrats’ reckless inflationary spending. Over half of North Carolinians say inflation has drastically impacted their spending this year, with 50.2% identifying it as the top issue facing their state,” Mr. Trump’s campaign said in a written statement.

“Since Kamala Harris took office, prices have soared by 21.8% costing families in North Carolina an extra $1,000 per month. The average Tar Heel family has already lost nearly $28,000 just to keep up with the soaring cost of living under Harris,” the campaign said.

THE HARRIS ITINERARY

Vice President Kamala Harris declared Monday that voters are “ready to turn the page” on Donald Trump, and that the former president is trying to “divide the country.”

News coverage joined in the anti-Trump fray. The New York Times, for example, declared that Mr. Trump and those who spoke at his exuberant campaign rally on Sunday night were pushing “misogynistic, anti-immigrant rhetoric” and “made vulgar references.”

Ms. Harris, meanwhile, is on the move, according to her campaign.

She was in Pennsylvania on Sunday and Michigan on Monday, and she heads for the nation’s capital on Tuesday, where she will deliver a speech on the National Mall.

SOME ADDED BLUSTER

There’s more bluster affecting the nation besides the 2024 presidential election.

“AccuWeather expert meteorologists say high ocean temperatures and the forecast for conducive atmospheric conditions could allow one to three named tropical storms to form in the Atlantic basin during the month of November,” AccuWeather said in a statement released Monday.

“We’ve been saying since March that the end of this year’s hurricane season could be quite active,” said Alex DaSilva, the lead hurricane authority for AccuWeather.

“We’re expecting a late-season surge in the month of November with another one to three named storms possible in the Atlantic basin,” he said.

“The entire state of Florida up into the Carolinas could be at risk of experiencing another tropical impact this season. This region is already vulnerable after dealing with multiple landfalls earlier this year,” Mr. DaSilva warned.

The western and central Gulf of Mexico coastline, however, likely will not see any direct impacts, he added.

Then there are the names.

“The next three names for any tropical storms that develop in the Atlantic basin this season would be Patty, Rafael and Sara,” AccuWeather said.

The official Atlantic hurricane season ends Nov. 30.

ROGAN REVISITED

Did you listen to the encounter between a powerful former U.S. president and a powerful podcaster?

“Although it has been many years in the making, this past Friday’s three-hour appearance by former President Donald Trump on the ‘Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast will take its place in communications history as the singular event that clearly symbolized, beyond a shadow of doubt, the realignment of platform influence in the hierarchy of the talk media universe,” said Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers, a talk radio industry publication.

“The hoopla over this podcast appearance and its enormous profile within election news coverage clearly indicates we have arrived at a point where the terms ‘mainstream,’ ‘legacy,’ ‘alternative,’ ‘grassroots,’ and the like have to be reevaluated in conveying impact and importance — both individually, and certainly collectively — in the marketplace of ideas and the industries that serve it.”  Mr. Harrison said in a written statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

Indeed, the podcast drew enormous interest on Saturday — and continues to do so. As of Monday, the encounter between president and radio host had garnered 34.6 million views on Mr. Rogan’s YouTube channel, which boasts 17.9 million subscribers.

POLL DU JOUR

• 57% of U.S. adults say inflation and increasing costs are among the most important issues facing the nation.

• 39% cite immigration.

• 26% cite health care.

• 24% cite political extremism or political polarization.

• 24% cite crime and corruption.

• 20% cite threats to democracy.

• 20% cite abortion.

• 19% cite climate change.

• 13% cite foreign conflicts or terrorism.

• 9% cite education.

• 8% cite election security or fraud.

SOURCE: A Scripps News/Ipsos poll of 1,028 U.S. adults conducted online Oct. 18-20 and released Monday. Respondents could choose up to three issues.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on X @HarperBulletin, on Facebook @HarperUniverse.