President Obama flies to Cape Canaveral today to lay out his new and improved plans for NASA, after his initial calls for major changes and cuts in certain space programs were panned by lawmakers in both political parties in the Congress.
The White House played up today's Obama visit to the hilt, saying the President will "deliver remarks on the bold new course the Administration is charting for NASA and the future of U.S. leadership in human space flight."
One of those enlisted by the White House to stand behind Obama-NASA 2.0 was former Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
"This is the right program at the right time," Aldrin said. "I applaud the President for his boldness."
But the first man on the moon and Aldrin's Apollo 11 crewmate, Neil Armstrong, blasted the Obama plans, even after details were revealed by the White House before today's trip to the Cape.
"Although some of these proposals have merit, the accompanying decision to cancel the Constellation program, its Ares I and Ares V rockets, and the Orion spacecraft, is devastating," said Armstrong, who was promptly blasted by more liberal websites.
Down Pennsylvania Avenue in the halls of Congress, there were also few positive words being offered, as the floors of the House and Senate this week have been filled with bipartisan blasts over the Obama Space plans.
Eight House members trooped to the floor in the first 45 minutes of Wednesday's session to rip Obama's plans, joining a chorus of voices on the Senate floor in recent days who have done the same.
"We're going to apparently throw away the Orion capsule that we've spent billions of dollars on," groused Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL), one of many Republicans from states with NASA facilities who have been skewering NASA repeatedly over its budget offerings.
No matter what the exact details are from the White House, there may be a good chance that the Congress brushes aside the President's NASA 2.0 details, with lawmakers writing plans that suit their budget arguments instead.
"The President has replaced one visionless plan with another," scoffed Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL).
President Obama flies to Cape Canaveral today to lay out his new and improved plans for NASA, after his initial calls for major changes and cuts in certain space programs were panned by lawmakers in both political parties in the Congress. The White House played up today's Obama visit to ...
About the Author
Featured
