posted 11-30-2018 10:58 PM               

Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died. George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for. The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41's life and love, for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for Dad, and for the condolences of our friends and fellow citizens.

Above: President George H.W. Bush with Vice President Dan Quayle and astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. on the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission in 1989. (Credit: The White House)

As George Bush took office in January 1989, there was a widespread sense in the space community that NASA needed a new, challenging goal to complete its recovery from the Challenger accident and put it on a positive path for the future. Bush agreed with this belief, and asked his vice president, Dan Quayle, to prepare a major new space initiative.

Bush announced what became known as the Space Exploration Initiative in a speech on July 20, 1989, the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing. He called for "a long-range, continuing commitment. First, for the coming decade, for the 1990s: Space Station Freedom, our critical next step in all our space endeavors. And next, for the new century: Back to the moon; back to the future. And this time, back to stay. And then a journey into tomorrow, a journey to another planet: a manned mission to Mars." Added Bush: "Why the moon? Why Mars? Because it is humanity's destiny to strive, to seek, to find. And because it is America's destiny to lead. From the voyages of Columbus – to the Oregon Trail – to the journey to the moon itself – history proves that we have never lost by pressing the limits of our frontiers."

The Bush administration spent much of its remaining time in office trying to find a way to get this space exploration proposal accepted by the Democratic majority in Congress and by the general public. Even some in the NASA leadership were skeptical of adding a program to return to the moon to NASA's existing tasks of flying the space shuttle and developing a space station. By the time that Bush left the White House, the Space Exploration Initiative was dead. Another presidential initiative, the Mission to Planet Earth – to use a network of Earth observing satellites to understand the dynamics of global climate change -- has proved to be a more lasting legacy.

Disappointed by NASA's reaction to the president's 1989 exploration proposals and by the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope with a misshapen mirror, the White House in 1990 commissioned a searching overall assessment of NASA that was headed by aerospace industry executive Norman Augustine. It concluded that "NASA is currently overcommitted in terms of program obligations relative to resources available – in short, it is trying to do too much."

The Bush administration proposed significant budget increases for NASA in response to this observation. However, Bush was persuaded NASA would not change for the better under its current management, and in early 1992, he replaced NASA Administrator Richard Truly with Daniel Goldin, who had spent most of his career working on national security space programs. Goldin vowed to bring a "faster, better, cheaper" approach to NASA's programs.

Above: George H.W. Bush, then Vice President of the United States, with astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen aboard the space shuttle Columbia prior to the STS-1 mission in 1981. (Credit: NASA)

NASA Administrator Statement on Passing of George H.W. Bush

The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine about the passing of former President George Herbert Walker Bush:

"NASA and the nation mourn the passing of President George Herbert Walker Bush, a leader who was a passionate advocate for space exploration.

"President Bush is a personal hero of mine and a major inspiration in my life. I remember like yesterday watching the 1992 Republican National Convention, learning of his life of sacrifice, and hearing his whimsical memories of 'sitting on an aircraft carrier, looking at the stars, and dreaming about a girl named Barbara.' From being the Navy's youngest fighter pilot in World War II and being shot down, to his years of public service in Congress, the State Department, CIA, Vice President and President, there was nothing he wouldn't give for our country and her people.

"President Bush's Space Exploration Initiative helped us to think big and long-term about space. His impassioned vision of 'a journey into tomorrow – a journey to another planet – a manned mission to Mars,' helped sustain NASA's early work on the International Space Station, and it still can be felt in our ongoing efforts to send humans farther into the solar system to live and work for extended periods.

"The President noted it was humanity's destiny to explore, and America's destiny to lead. We salute this great American leader, who challenged us to chart a course for the future to benefit all humanity."