SOmething I noticed in the full version, and you can really see it in this close-framed video: The guy in the upper-left corner who looks like the aged Anakin Skywalker. His expressions are a bit of a hoot too, though not nearly as dramatic as Buzz’s.

Trump, the grift that keeps on giving!

He is a big fan of Infowars and gave them White House press credentials…

“Especially the three American astronauts,” he said, listing NASA’s Alvin Drew, former astronaut David Wolf, and “the second man on the moon: the legendary Buzz Aldrin.”

“Welcome to the White House,” Pence said.

But he didn’t mention the former astronaut standing about five feet away — Sandy Magnus.

Trump would also name the three male astronauts without mentioning Magnus — an omission quickly noticed in the wider space community.
…

After Pence finished his introduction, it was on to the president — a known space aficionado who once phoned astronauts in orbit and asked them to hurry up and get to Mars.

“Our travels beyond the Earth propel scientific discoveries that improve our lives in countless ways here,” Trump said, listing new industry, technology and “space security” among the benefits.

“At some point in the future, we’re going to look back and say how did we do it without space?” Trump then said, causing Buzz Aldrin’s eyebrows to shoot up.

Eyebrows across the Internet would do likewise as Trump proceeded through his speech, a mix of eloquence and questionable ad-libs.

“The human soul yearns for discovery,” Trump said, for example. “Our journey into space will not only make us stronger and more prosperous, but will unite us behind grand ambitions and bring us all closer together.

“Wouldn’t that be nice? Can you believe that space is going to do that?”

Vice President Pence, as mentioned, will chair the new council.

Some who learned this remembered that when Pence was a congressman, he once chaired a Republican study group that recommended canceling NASA’s space exploration program — no moon or Mars trips — to save money.

But Pence’s 2005 plan didn’t go anywhere, and on Friday, he said he was “honored and frankly enthusiastic” about leading the National Space Council.

Trump assured those gathered that “Mike is very much into space.”

“This is going to launch a whole new chapter for our great country,” Trump said near the end of his speech.

Then he sat down at a table and opened the executive order.

“I know what this is,” he said. “Space!”

Beside him, Aldrin chimed in with a quote from the astronaut character Buzz Lightyear from the movie “Toy Story.”

“Infinity and beyond!” Aldrin said.

Everyone laughed.

Then Trump added some lines of his own.

“This is infinity here,” he said. “It could be infinity. We don’t really don’t know. But it could be. It has to be something — but it could be infinity, right?”

Trump then signed the order and revived the National Space Council, leaving his final words on the subject a mystery.

Yup… THAT fills me with confidence!
And THAT is what you voted for, Techie… that and russian collusion…

You sure can pick ‘em!!

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/science/nasa-trump-request-moon-new-rocket.html

In February, at the request of the Trump administration, NASA began studying whether it was possible to add crew for the first flight of its Space Launch System, a heavy-lift rocket under development for deep space missions.

On Friday, the space agency announced it would not. During a conference call with reporters, Robert M. Lightfoot Jr., the acting NASA administrator, said the change was technically feasible, but that the additional cost, time and risks outweighed the benefits. “It really reaffirmed the baseline plan we have in place is the best way to go,” he said.

Putting astronauts on the first flight would have added $600 million to $900 million to the $24 billion price tag, Mr. Lightfoot said, and delayed the launch until probably the first half of 2020.

Including astronauts would have also required significant work, like adding a fully operational life-support system to the Orion crew capsule, where the astronauts would have been seated.

And he has no comprehension of the realities involved…

TRUMP: “Tell me: Mars, what do you see a timing for actually sending humans to Mars? Is there a schedule and when would you see that happening?”

WHITSON: “Well, I think as your bill directed, it’ll be approximately in the 2030s. As I mentioned, we actually are building hardware to test the new heavy launch vehicle, and this vehicle will take us further than we’ve ever been away from this planet.

“So, unfortunately space flight takes a lot of time and money so getting there will require some international cooperation to get the — it to be a planet-wide approach in order to make it successful just because it is a very expensive endeavor. But it is so worthwhile doing.”

TRUMP: “Well, we want to try and do it during my first term or, at worst, during my second term, so we’ll have to speed that up a little bit, okay?”

Besides, He really doesn’t have the stamina required when he tires himself out on twitter feuding with morning show hosts…
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/881140479454310401