“Apollo on steroids”? Forget about it. Back to the moon? Not anytime soon. NASA’s new vision for space exploration is less specific on a destination, but more focused on making room for new technologies and new players in spaceflight.
Some critics in Congress say they’ll fight to keep some elements of the moon plan in place – but one of the most influential critics says it would be “very difficult” to change NASA’s new course.
In its budget request, released today, the White House is seeking $19 billion for the space agency during fiscal 2011, which is a slight increase from the current fiscal year’s $18.7 billion. But over the next five years, NASA says it will have $6 billion more than previously planned, with most of that going to support technology development and commercialization.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told reporters that the increase represented “an extraordinary show of support in these tough budgetary times.”