President Obama, in his economic budget plan for 2011, plans to cut the Constellation program of NASA in light of the recent budget plans for reducing the nation's deficit. With the space shuttle set to retire this year, the canceling of the Constellation program, which planned to be the next step in manned spacecraft with the Orion capsule and Ares rocket, means NASA will have to look to private companies to man their space ventures, not to mention scrap the hopes of returning to the moon by 2020.
Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle
But don't start crying yet. While the cancellation of this program may seem a huge loss of money as well as jobs right now, in all truthfulness this program has been riddled with troubles. The original plan was to have astronauts on the moon in the year 2020, but with delays and setbacks, the revised plans for the first manned Ares rocket mission was for 2017; we would never have reached the moon three years later; possibly not even until 2030. While I deeply regret the thought of our very own NASA not having its own system for manned spaceflight, I'm not entirely surprised or devastated at the particular Orion project possibly being scrapped; perhaps later, when situations get better, NASA can redeem itself and make a more efficient program in a slightly more timely manner.
Also, can outsourcing to private companies really be terrible? Private companies are jumping at the chance to be able to provide the manned spacecraft to supply the International Space Station as well as other missions.The main reason Obama plans to cut the program is because of its lack of efficiency taken in perspective of our nation's budget. With more competition and powerful incentives, opening up space to everyone may perhaps yield the space results we've all been hoping for, of getting humans to the moon and possibly farther for the first time since 1972.
I would love comments on this issue of the Constellation... Is Obama's plan justified?
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