NASA’s moon return plans ‘dead’
A plan to return US astronauts to the moon "is dead," a White House adviser on space issues said, confirming reports that NASA will instead focus on developing commercial space transport.
"Constellation is dead," the adviser said on condition of anonymity, referring to a program that envisioned returning to the moon by 2020 and using Earth's nearest neighbour as a base for manned expeditions to Mars.
Florida Today newspaper first reported the demise of the program on Thursday, saying the plan was doomed by financial constraints in the 2011 budget which President Barack Obama is to present to Congress on Monday.
Reports added that the US space agency will work on finding a commercial solution to ferrying US astronauts to the International Space Station after the scheduled end of NASA's shuttle program in September 2010.
Only five more shuttle flights, including a mission by the Endeavour set for a February 7 launch, are planned.
Astronauts will be able to hitch rides aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft, but the United States will need a commercial alternative if Congress approves White House plans to scrap development of a successor to the shuttle program.
The administration reportedly plans to hike NASA's budget by $US5.9 billion over five years to boost commercial development, with the goal of a first commercial flight to the ISS launching by 2015, the source said.
The Constellation program was launched in 2004 by then-president George W Bush.
Space expert John Logsdon said the abandonment of the program did not spell the end for US ambitions in space.
"While Constellation is dead, it does not mean human space exploration is also dead," said Mr Logsdon, former director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University.
He said NASA would probably start to plan with the private sector and international partners for the future of the ISS past 2020.
- AFP
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January 30th, 2010 - 14:09
There goes America’s space program. How sad. Well, time for someone to step up and get us to space.
January 30th, 2010 - 17:30
Well, lets face it, their entire budget would be in emissions taxxes for a single launch if they weren’t exempt in the first place.
The whole shuttle program is a saddle on a missile aimed at the ozone.
I think they should at least be trying to look at cost efficient alternatives.