This is a guest opinion column
Here in Huntsville, we do not just support America’s space program—we help lead it. At NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and across our region, thousands of skilled Alabamians are helping power the future of American spaceflight. That includes the Space Launch System (SLS), a critical part of NASA’s Artemis program and the only rocket in the world capable of carrying both astronauts and heavy cargo to the Moon in a single launch.
As Congress works through the budget reconciliation process, leaders will be forced to make difficult choices. The goal of ensuring fiscal responsibility while delivering meaningful tax relief is an important one. But how we get there matters. If the process focuses too narrowly on short-term savings, we risk doing real damage to programs that are vital to America’s long-term security, global leadership, and economic strength. President Trump’s proposed 2026 budget calls for phasing out the SLS after just three flights. While this proposal isn’t binding and will not be decided through reconciliation, it sends a clear signal—and it should give Congress pause. Now is not the time to scale back on the only launch system capable of sustaining deep space exploration. Doing so would directly impact on our ability to meet mission goals and would ripple through communities like ours that help build and maintain this world-class capability…