President Obama just finished his remarks at the Kennedy Space Center, outlining his vision for the future of NASA and space exploration. He declared he is "100% committed" to the agency and its future.
"Exploration will once more inspire wonder in a new generation," he said. "If we fail to press forward in the pursuit of discovery, we are ceding our future."
He said that by 2025 he expects U.S. astronauts to reach an asteroid for the first time, and then to orbit Mars by the 2030s.
Obama's message was unmistakable: He wants the U.S. to be thinking beyond a return to the moon.
The president has been criticized for his decision to abandon a manned mission to the moon, which was an idea of his predecessor, George W. Bush. Obama candidly told the crowd of about 200 NASA workers, politicians and guests that "we've been there" already and that NASA's sights should be trained higher and farther.
Obama also posed and answered this question: Why spend money on NASA at all -- especially in this fragile economy when unemployment hovers around 10%.
"For pennies on the dollar, the space program has improved our lives, advanced our society, strengthened our economy and inspired generations," he said. "I have no doubt that NASA can continue to fulfill this role...That is exactly why it's so essential that we pursue a new course and that we revitalize NASA...with clear aims and a larger purpose."
Obama's new plan for NASA calls for a smaller Orion spacecraft, a crew capsule that had been part of the return-to-the-moon program. The new craft will be tethered to the International Space Station, and be used as an escape vehicle for astronauts conducting experiments there in case of any emergency there. That new craft would eliminate the need to use Russian spacecraft in emergencies.
One key concern, especially in the midst of a recession, is any possible loss of jobs. NASA had already planned to shut down the shuttle program, which takes astronauts and equipment to the space station, early next year. The shuttle is currently the only vehicle large enough for the task. In his remarks, Obama stressed that his new plan will create jobs.
Obama said his plan would lead to more than 2,500 additional jobs on Florida's Space Coast -- the area including and around Kennedy Space Center -- and calls for increasing the NASA budget by $6 billion over five years. Obama also committed to making a decision in 2015 on the type of heavy-lift launch vehicle that the U.S. would build for missions that go beyond Earth's orbit and accelerating the development of the super-size rocket by two years.
(Posted by Catalina Camia)
David's journalism career spans three decades, including coverage of five presidential elections, the Oklahoma City bombing, the 2000 Florida presidential recount and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has covered the White House for USA TODAY since 2005. His interests include history, politics, books, movies and college football -- not necessarily in that order. More about David