Obama's 'Game-changing' NASA Plan Folds Constellation, Bets Commercial

摘要

Launching the future of U.S. human spaceflight on an uncertain trajectory, President Barack Obama surprised lawmakers and industry with a budget proposal that scraps NASA's Moon-bound Constellation program in its entirety and bets a chunk of the savings on the ability of commercial firms to ferry crews to and from the international space station.rnObama's proposed NASA budget of $19 billion for 2011 -a 1.5 percent increase over 2010 - commits to retiring the space shuttle after five more flights, halts development of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle and Ares 1 rocket, and solidifies U.S. intentions to keep using the nearly completed space station for another decade.