Where is NASA Going? Rumors Fly

By Nancy Atkinson - January 27, 2010 at 10:55 AM UTC | Space Policy
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The rumors are flying fast and furious as to details of NASA's budget and future path that will be officially announced on February 1, 2010. The

Orlando Sentinel

says the Constellation program is dead: Obama and Congress are going to pull the plug on the Ares rocket and nix returning to the Moon. The Houston Chronicle says there is no way NASA will get a budget boost, especially not the $3 billion suggested by the Augustine Commission.

New Scientists

reports that Mars' moon Phobos will be the next destination of human explorers, as part of the undefined "flexible path" -- again suggested by the Augustine panel. Most interesting among the mix is a

blog post by NASA's Wayne Hale,

who suggests NASA should get out of the human spaceflight business – and allow commercial space companies to handle hauling astronauts to space.

Some speculate this could be the end of America's space agency as we know it -- we might as well take the "S" out of NASA.

The Augustine Commission report last year said "The human spaceflight program that the United States is currently pursuing is on an unsustainable trajectory."

But is ending Constellation, a program we've already spent billions on going to save money or our space program in the long run?

Or does NASA need a whole new direction and a whole new beginning.

Or is it an ending?

Enough speculation. The official word will come on Monday.

Discuss below, or chime in at this thread on

NASAWatch,

or

this one at Space Politics.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com