The House approved a new NASA policy late Wednesday to develop commercial rockets to ferry U.S. astronauts to the space station and launch an extra shuttle flight.
The 304-118 vote rubber-stamped Senate legislation that the Obama administration supported.
The vote, which came just before the House was to recess until after the November election, marked a major change for the space agency. In addition to fostering the development of a commercial space sector, the bill also backs development of a heavy-lift rocket for NASA to send people to asteroids and Mars.
"This legislation will define NASA's future by building on its past," said Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach. "Failure is not an option."
"The legislation before us asks NASA to do too much with too little," said Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge. "There is something in here for everybody to hate, sure enough. But there is no other alternative."
Because lawmakers are leaving town to campaign, spending disputes must be resolved after the Nov. 2 election. But NASA advocates considered approval of the policy legislation key to securing the start of an additional $6 billion over five years Obama proposed for the agency.
"It immediately gives direction to NASA to go ahead and do the third shuttle flight, which they have to start planning now," said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who visited the House floor repeatedly during the day to urge approval.
-Bart Jansen, Washington correspondent for FLORIDA TODAY
Space news and analysis from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 
7 comments:
A very sad day for manned space exploration!!! The only good thing to come out of this is an extra shuttle flight. Otherwise, more BAD change coming from a president who is turning this country into ruins!!!
I'm not sure if anyone has noticed, but KSC is becoming a ghost town. The ARF has a skeleton crew, the Pads are deserted, and the only people you run into out here are pencil pushers shacked up in the various administrative areas. So, there is the "perception" given to the public by whimsical budgets designed to go nowhere and then there is the reality of lost jobs and the disgrace of a disappearing space program. As far as Mr. Nelson goes, he should be ashamed to support such nonsense. But I guess we all have our price.
Failure is not an option.!!! Don't make me cry.You have already done it by passing this bill.I love NASA and it really saddens me to see it shafted like this.I now know who it will be visting the moon next, but it won't be an american.Chinese base on the moon anyone? The legacy is now in tatters..!!
Please vote this lack of vision President out of office in 2 years. Please vote Bill Nelson out of office.
KSC is far from a ghost town, there is a lot going on but perhaps not what everyone wants to see right at this moment. KSC is an engineering center. The space program is also far from dead. The space shuttle program was canceled 6 years ago and that was really a nice act from the former President Bush. It was a surprise to everyone that the shuttles were going to continue to fly post the Columbia accident. Who do you know gets a 6 year layoff notice? No one. It is terrible that one person is loosing their job, absolutely heartbreaking. But we have to move on and hopefully up with new technologies, ideas, spacecraft, facilities, software/hardware, etc.
Amen to the last post... I have worked my entire career in the private sector and have been laid off. I know it is heart breaking however most of the folks being laid off have known, had stay bonuses, and great salaries for 25 or 30 years. That is not heard of in the private sector. Large number of people have been laid off from companies all over the world. The shuttle program was at the end of its useful life what are we supposed to do, just keep it going for jobs? That doesn't make sense. The country and this community needs to move onto new programs, new technology and people with an additude of being excited about doing something better... not just the same thing over and over again for 30 years.
Amen to the post that stated Amen to the last post...
We need to move on from the shuttle. The STS-135 mission was mainly approved to save jobs. That's unfair to the other people in America that have lost their jobs and don't have Congress trying to make their lives easier. Many got no notice of being laid off and only received 2 weeks severence pay.
An yes, KSC is chock full of lazy workers. Workers who spend time playing games on their electronic devices. Workers who spent time at work doing college homework and charge it to NASA. Workers who have their own businesses and spend time at KSC doing their business work and charge that to the government. Workers who rub the backs of younger women and charge that time to the government. I mean USA workers.
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