Thursday, April 08, 2010

Bolden to update NASA budget plans in talk with reporters

NASA will host a 2 p.m. news conference today to updates plans for implementing its proposed $19 billion fiscal year 2011 budget, the agency announced this morning.

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, associate administrators for each major space agency division and the chief technologist will participate on a conference call with reporters.

You'll be able to listen to audio of the teleconference online here.

The call is timed a week before President Obama's planned April 15 "space conference" in Florida and presumably will preview changes to human spaceflight policy that he will advocate, including more definition about each NASA center's future role and programs.

The budget proposal has been criticized by many members of Congress and unpopular on the Space Coast, which faces up to 9,000 job losses at Kennedy Space Center after the shuttle retires.

The White House hasn't yet confirmed details of the conference, which is expected to to be held at or near KSC.

Obama has proposed cancelling the Constellation program that hoped to return astronauts to the moon with Ares rockets and the Orion spacecraft.

His budget would extend the life of the International Space Station by five years, to 2020, and rely on commercial companies to transport crews to low Earth orbit.

Over five years, the proposed budget would increase NASA spending by $6 billion, including $2 billion to make KSC and Cape Canaveral a "21st Century Launch Facility."

After today's teleconference, KSC Director Bob Cabana will hold an "informal briefing" with reporters at 3:30 p.m.

IMAGE: Charles Bolden, 12th Administrator of NASA. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmm... I wonder how this was reviewed.... :(

Jerry W said...

Quote:NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, associate administrators for each mission directorate and the chief technologist will participate on the call.

Lori Garver worked for Griffin who had the vision where NASA was headed, now Lori has the vision this is really a joke, now we are headed to having a third rate NASA

Anonymous said...

I hope he took the time to tell the 7 astronauts who left here Monday AM, just how unsafe the vehicle they were riding on is, he has no trouble telling everyone else.

Anonymous said...

Waiting for "Antagonist the Asstronot" and his lame, rhetorical, cut and past nonsense.

Conor said...

A "21st Century Launch Facility."?
Without any manned launch vehicles capable of leaving Earth orbit? Not my idea of the 21st Century.
As to keeping the ISS flying until 2020, that depends on the heavy spares lasting out.

NickDangerous said...

Well this is either going to be...

A) We have heard your lamentations and here is a "revised and
refocused" Budget

OR

B) We have heard your lamentations and are here to tell you to stick it!

Gaetano Marano said...

probably, today's press conference, has the purpose to reveal some points of the "Plan A+" to have a feedback from contractors, experts, politics, public opinion, etc. and use that feedback to "refine" the "final" plan to be presented the next April 15 avoiding to change it again and again and again...

Anonymous said...

SPACE PROGRAM = GLORIFIED SOCIAL WELFARE PROGRAM on the backs of hard working tax payers.

STOP THE SCAM NOW!

Gaetano Marano said...

--
after the latest news release from NASA I don't see any change in the "plan" nor even any further detail of the plan's points... the most relevant aspect of this plan is that it has plenty of (unknown) basic researches but just a few real projects and, great part, relying on the (unknown) real capabilities of the "commercial space"
--

Anonymous said...

Charles Bolden - Puppet
No reason really to listen to him. Reads straight from the book. A Cheerleader for an under ambitious plan to kill human spaceflight. Get ready for a new Brevard folks.