Russia. Obama. Florida. Will Trump turn SpaceX rocket launch into a swing state rally?

Obama administration ended Space Shuttle program, but entered into first contracts with SpaceX in 2011

A SpaceX rocket is scheduled to ferry NASA astronauts into outer space on Wednesday afternoon. Donald Trump will be there, ready to turn the event into a campaign rally.

The return of an American-made rocket carrying an American-made space vehicle into the heavens already is giving the president and his top lieutenants fodder to hammer former President Barack Obama and his administration.

"What has happened is, in contrast to 2011, when President Obama took us out of the space launch business, that ended our leadership in space launch. Now we're going to get it back," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Fox Business on Wednesday morning.

The White House already is in celebratory mode, a festival of back-slapping scheduled to culminate not with the 4:33 p.m. launch of SpaceX's Demonstration Mission 2 rocket, but with a Trump speech about 90 minutes later at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"This is the first time since then that American rockets, American astronauts to the American space station. And that's really important," Mr Ross said, uttering the day's first bravado-fueled false statement: The International Space State is not an "American" platform. Rather it is a joint effort by the US, Canadian, European, Japanese and Russian space agencies.

Facts aside, the Commerce Secretary offered a preview of Mr Trump's expected talking points once Air Force One touches down in the Sunshine State.

"We were paying the Russians up to $86 million per seat to take our astronauts to our space station. That's now over with," he said. "You know, the president has stood [up] the Space Force, which is a whole new branch of the military, because space will be the new war fighting domain. ... So this is a very, very big deal."

Russia. Obama. Florida. An American space milestone that harkens back to the Cold War, when Donald John Trump came of age. An early prime time stage. Here are three things to watch.

Taking credit

Mr Trump recently claimed he has "reinvigorated" the US space program and NASA. He frequently claims to have done so with all kinds of things, from the US military to its health care system, and most recently, testing and ventilators to detect and treat coronavirus.

Democratic lawmakers and other critics doubt each claim.

But expect the president again on Wednesday to take credit for the launch. After all, he recently claimed NASA -- despite it working for almost a decade to help design and build the SpaceX vehicles and get its two astronauts ready "was dead as a door nail, but now it's very much alive."

Expect the president to hammer his predecessor for shutting down the Space Shuttle program. But Mr Trump's expected boasts and attacks won't tell the entire story.

SpaceX and NASA inked an agreement way back in 2014 for six missions beyond the Demo-2 flight. Mr Obama was the commander in chief at that time, and Mr Trump was only talking privately with friends and advisers about a presidential run. And in 2011, during Mr Obama's first term, the two entities signed a $3bn deal to design the Dragon spacecraft that will be launched on Wednesday.

Sunshine (swing) State

The event is a big deal in Florida, again a key presidential election swing state.

Mr Trump has moved his official residence to the Sunshine State and reminds voters there that's his permanent post-presidency destination. But polls signal trouble.

Former Vice President Joe Biden has opened a 3.3 per cent lead over him there, according to a RealClearPolitics average of a handful of polls. One, conducted by Florida Atlantic University 8 May-12 May, gives the presumptive Democratic nominee a 6 percentage point lead.

The president needs Florida and its coveted 29 Electoral College votes if he hopes to win a second term, according to political analysts from both parties. But, notably, over 53 per cent of those surveyed think Mr Trump will win re-election.

So the rocket launch and his subsequent celebration speech almost certainly will sound and feel a lot like one of his political rallies. And, no, don't expect Mr Trump to wear a mask as he tries to fire up mask- and coronavirus-skeptical conservative voters in Florida.

NASA upheaval

The US space agency is about to send two American astronauts into outer space for the first time since 2011. But, suddenly, without its head of human exploration.

Douglas Loverro stepped down on 19 May, causing alarms on Capitol Hill about the agency's ability to safely execute Wednesday's mission.

"I am deeply concerned over this sudden resignation, especially eight days before the first scheduled launch of US astronauts on US soil in almost a decade. Under this Administration, we've seen a pattern of abrupt departures that have disrupted our efforts at human space flight," Congresswoman Kendra Horn, chair of the House space subcommittee, tweeted.

"The bottom line is that, as the Committee that oversees NASA, we need answers," the Democrat from Oklahoma added.

William Gerstenmaier, who had long been the head of NASA's human space flight, was demoted last year by the Trump administration.

But the White House has yet to address the Loverro resignation. Instead, Vice President Mike Pence, who also will be on hand for the launch, recently was upbeat about the agency's ability to pull off the launch.

During a recent meeting of the National Space Council, which the VP chairs, he said the launch is about "renewing American leadership in space" and will be "exactly the kind of leadership that has inspired our nation throughout my lifetime. And I know it is going to be a great inspiration to the American people when we see those rockets fire next week."

But the real fire likely will come when Mr Trump delivers his celebratory remarks long after the SpaceX rocket has blasted off.