Page 17 - Constellation Program News Today

Exacerbated. im not giving up on being able to find, you know, help our contractor family members find ways they can transition their people to other jobs. >> reporter: so it is really, don, tough times now for nasa, facing the end of the shuttle program, no constellation program, not likely, anyway, unless congress steps in. so it is going to be an interesting year in the space program. >> tough time for a lot of folks and now feeling it at nasa. john zarrella, thank you very much. it is all be...

Scientists hope it will do. the company says the project would not have happened without stimulus funds. in fact, the companys opener had pulled out because of the financial crisis. now they hope to have that plan up and running in 2014. and we are keeping our eye on that and lots of other projects in the $862 billion stimulus bill right here at the cnn stimulus desk. well, as we told you this morning, "endeavour" did not takeoff. it is only one of five shuttle launches left. they will try it ...

Security as well? >> if people want not to spend as much, but spend what we do correctly and this concept doesnt do either of them. not only are we talking about space shuttle programs, but we are also talking about the skill set to make those rockets that lifts us up to the space station and beyond are the same skill sets that defend our country and our missile system. so, if youre going to cut this program, youre not only doing a serious harm to our space industry and space program, youre equa...

>>. do you think that congress will step in? >> i hope so, 20,000 jobs in private sector on the line. not just jobs, rare skilled jobs not just for the space system, but our missile defense system as well. its a defense issue. the defense department said in a report to us last june if you slow down this aires constellation program. >> brian: not everybody liked the constellation program, it was the only thing on the drawing board. now were starting over. >> this one thing by a rogue administrato...

The president propeses giving nasa about $6 billion, the question is, how would that money be used. brian wilson is in d.c. to try to answer this. brian, does the presidents vision mean that the united states basically is walking away from mans exploration of space? >> reporter: i think thats a fair question. the shuttle program is winding down this year, the president is killing off the constellation program which was the bush-era plan to send americans back to the moon but nasa administrator c...

Investment and put it on the shelf as far as im concerned. i dont care how people want to sugar coat it, we are no longer a space exploration, a space exploring nation, we are now put in a position of second place and what we dont do today, i promise you, someone else is going to do tomorrow and i dont think the american people are going to like that. jon: the chinese are getting pretty aggressive with their mission to get a man on the moon, arent they? >> well, i think they are, we hear they ar...

Barack obama, he said, could inspire like kennedy or de-fund like nixon. today the proposed white house budget boldly goes where both presidents have gone before. nasas constellation program initiated in the wake of the 2003 space shuttle "columbia" disaster, today it happens to mark seven years since that awful tragedy and constellations goal sent astronauts to the international space station, returned them to the moon by the year 2020. the obama budget canceled constellation, which is describe...

Budget boldly goes where both presidents have gone before. nasas constellation program initiated in the wake of the 2003 space shuttle "columbia" disaster, today it happens to mark seven years since that awful tragedy and constellations goal sent astronauts to the international space station, returned them to the moon by the year 2020. the obama budget canceled constellation, which is described as behind schedule, over budget, and lacking innovation. nasas current administrator, charles bolden, ...

Exploration with two presidents. barack obama said he could inspire like kennedy or defund like nixon. they boldly go where both have gone before. nasas constellation program initiated with the columbia disaster, but today it happened to mark sen years since the awful tragedy and they send astronauts to the international space station and returned them to the moon by the year 2020. they cancel it when oorn overbudget and behind. the administrator said in a conference call, we were not on a susta...

All right, thanks very much, lisa. good report. as lisa just noted, the budget would pull the plug on nasas massive effort to return astronauts to the moon by the end of the decade. cnns john zarrella is joining us from miami. john, where does nasa go from here with all of the scrubbing of the -- whats called the constellation program? >> you know, wolf, it was just three months ago that the ares 1 rocket, first test flight, very successful, very likely the first and last test ever of the ares r...