Gingrich said he would encourage commercial activities in space, including science, tourism and manufacturing. And in about eight years, he promises a rocket capable of reaching Mars.
Gingrich gave no details on how much a re-energized space program might cost or how he proposes to pay for it, except to say commercial interests might be promised prizes in the billions of dollars for developing the hardware.
His plan for "constant energetic and excited activities" would draw people back to the Space Coast, he said. "Because it's exciting and it's dynamic and who knows what next week is going to be like. Does that mean I'm a visionary? You betcha."
Later, at a roundtable with business leaders and educators, former shuttle pilot Mike McCulley recalled that President George W. Bush outlined an ambitious space agenda, which went nowhere. President Obama has also proposed a program much like Gingrich's that would use commercial rockets to carry cargo and crew to the International Space Station.
McCulley said he might quibble with a few of Gingrich's details, but at least it's a vision.
"It's been three or four major programs that have consumed enormous amounts of energy and money and time, and here we sit eight years later without a hell of a lot to show for it. I can say that now that I'm retired, of course," McCulley said.
The former House speaker's space plan is a classic Gingrich big idea. Whether he would be able to sell it to debt-weary taxpayers and Congress, to say nothing of whether it would succeed, can only be guessed.
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