From our Washington correspondent Bart Jansen:
Sen. Bill Nelson met with President Barack Obama today to discuss NASA, and the Florida Democrat came away optimistic.
"Excellent conversation," he said of his White House talk.
But Nelson refused to go further, saying any details would have to wait for Obama's April 15 space summit in Florida.
Nelson is pushing for Obama to use his Florida visit to announce the addition of one more shuttle flight and a heavy-lift rocket development test program that could save 1,500 to 2,000 Kennedy Space Center jobs.
Obama's NASA budget proposal gave more money to the space agency, but went ahead with former President George W. Bush's plans to retire the shuttle fleet at the end of this year. Obama also proposed scrapping the post-shuttle Constellation moon program. The president promised more money for commercial aerospace companies to help them develop rockets that could carry U.S. astronauts to the space station.
Space news and analysis from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 
51 comments:
We need to get the UAW they did not loose a job and the "PRESIDENT" poured 57 Billion into that project with no expected return at GM , put the "PRESIDENT" to the test not "WORDS" and see how many jobs are lost I will bet 7 to 10 Thyousand and we will get more words of "CHANGE".
Nelson is just like Obama ... a Liar and a Thief!! Or is that Obama is just like Nelson ... a Thief and a Liar!!
At The Federal Level, representatives should think *Nationally*. EVERY district has it's pet projects, whether it's the new Arkansas FBI building,or Alaska's Bridge to Nowhere.
And it's the sum total of all these micro-economy projects that creates the >1T$ budget deficit.
So even as Congress crows about government getting too big, or too much spending, they lobby for exactly what Nelson is after- their own slice of deficit pie.
The very ones CREATING the deficit are COMPLAINING about it.
Shame on the hypocritical hypesters. Someone needs to consider AMERICA. You're at the BIG BOY table now- let's act that way.
Great words but no jobs for the 7 thousand just like during the election, when the union loved everthing he said we are going to get more of the same the commerical rockets can "NEVERE" come close to 7 thousand jobs so be ready for the "CHANGE" unemployment
The great fleecer just struck a deal with a con artist! Question is who is who?
Any person with a "Sen." before their name is a thief and a liar. You didn't know that?
wise one you must retired on a Goverment funding we we are the "BIG MAN" table and do bend over and say yes sir no sir
thank you boss, we are the tax payer.you just knell as you are use too.
Don't forget...SEN Nelson wants the Shuttle Program to end after the added flight. He does not believe in extending the Shuttle Program and does not support it.
Wipe your chin Bill, you have Kool Aid on it.
Anonymous 2:49 PM - You friggin make me laugh - W told you 6 YEARS AGO that the shuttle was being shut down. How much more notice do you need? Most companies give you 6 minutes, you got 6 years.
NASA = Glorified Social Welfare Program.
It kills me that the Tea Party whose leaders are Corporate Lobbyist such as the "Heritage Foundation" who funds Talk Radio host such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are so supportive of a govt jobs program called the Space Program.
The Space Program has been an excuse to drain the pockets of the tax payer for over twenty years now on the Shuttle Program whose biggest accomplishment was to kill 14 astronauts.
I mean we orbited the earth and went to the moon back in the 60's so they haven't done anything to top that except for fill the bank accounts of Defense Contractors and their employees with tax dollars taken from people who make much less of a salary than the average Space Worker.
The SCAM has to end!
Signed:
True Conservative
We've got some real spelling bee champions in this group don't we?
More upbeat? What did Nobama promise you Senator Nelson in exchange for going along with his program? A trip on Air Force One?, Pork Barrel projects? How can you be upbeat of thousands being laid off and unemployment at 12% in Brevard. Ask yourself? "Are you better off than you were 4 trillion dollars ago? Bankrupt America? "Yes We Can!"
Nasa is a Welfare Program. No Health Care then No Space Program
GO OBAMA YOUR THE MAN
All you Einsteins talk about the space program being govt. waste as you watch your satellite t.v. s and talk on your cell phones and blog on your laptops . Talk about a bunch of Liberal hypocrits
NASA may be a welfare program but at least it produced something other than welfare deadbeats that want other people to pay for their health insurance!!
If Bill Nelson actually believes anything Obama says, then he needs to immediately seek professional help and perhaps start looking at long-term Senior care.
Hey Einstrin, Shuttle and Constellation have nothing to do with Satellite TV or cellphones...
Again, all the big talkers with the 'smart' opinions choose to remain anonymous. Come on, use your real name and be proud of your opinion--or is it you only talk big when you hide behind anonymity?
"NASA = Glorified Social Welfare Program."
The moron who wrote this has no idea what the hell he is talking about. This is the type of idiot who has benefited from the space program just like the rest of us and has no idea how that has happened.
Anyone out there who doesn't know what the US Space Program has done for you, needs to go on the search engine of your choice and search for "NASA Spinoffs." From there you will see how just about everything NASA has done has helped us in some way. From personal computers to modern health care and beyond.
His decisions will likely be reversed, as his ideology confronts reality. Just like the plan to try KSM in NY or close Guantanamo in one year or withdraw all troops from Iraq by July or...
His naivety / ignorance would be cute if he weren’t President of the United States.
Some of you people are pretty ignorant.
Anonymous said...
Hey Einstrin, Shuttle and Constellation have nothing to do with Satellite TV or cellphones...
The technology came from space. Most everything you use came from space. If you or someone you know has had to have a CT Scan or MRI, thank the space program. The list goes on and on.
Just pulled off the I-95 exit ramp on to 192 in west Melbourne.
I seen to older Gentlemen holding signs, one read; Hungry Vietnam Vet, the next sign read; Hungry Korean War Vet. The next sign was planted in the ground behind the two gentlemen, and it read Coming Soon "KSC worker".
Hicks? NASA=Glorified Welfare program? Only the rejects of society could equate statements like that to the space program and NASA.
Dull-witted naybobs with not an ounce of original thought could support a president and senator the likes of Obama and Nelson.
Not only has NASA served this country well it has made life easier even for you childish men or women who think it hasn't, simply because your strange politics and greedy little fingers are never satisfied with anything until you grab it all.
Go back to the swap you came from since by all accounts that's where your true beliefs lie.
Is it true Nasa invented toilet paper?
Montreal here.
If Sen. Nelson bends and agrees with the pres proposals for NASA,
then he should loose is job in nov. i still don t undestand how a Canadian can be prouder or more anthousiastic about the US manneed space program than a lot of supposed patriotic Americans.
To give a riply to True conservative. How did you feel on July 20 1969. If you were old anough, i m hoping that yo were proud right. Yet Apollo was in a way big government, but it was the only wat to beat the russians. Big government unfortunately is still the way to beat China this time to Mars.
and i a m not hiding. i symply dont have an e mail adress or name.
please don't tell me that Nelson believed what he said. Oh my God no!!!!! It's all lies.
NASA has contributed to so many advances in our society than one can count. You wouldn't have Teflon without NASA not to mention the satellites that provide capabilities in everything from weather tracking, defense, to sports TV. A lot of what NASA does is research & development, like operation of the most complicated peice of hardware on this planet, the space shuttle, and that does not come without risk and sometimes tragedy. It's not an airline and even the airlines have tragedies.
Investment in NASA and a space program is our future with at least a return on the investment in terms we all beneifit from verses the give-away programs we have. If you don't believe the benefits we have gained, like a previous commenter said, get on the web and check for NASA spin-offs. Go take a tour of Kennedy Space Center.
The scientists, engineers, and workers that have built this program deserve better than what the current future seems to hold for them and if the government does not look out for them we will loose a lot of talent; these people have families to feed too. We can give trillions away for disasters in other countries but we can't maintain leadership in space? The aerospace workers don't want a hand-out, they just want to continue working on a space program for the benefit of us all. Tell your government representatives to let the president know we need a space program!
No comment till the president speaks??? more behind the door deals, what happened to the open door c-span talks.. if Nelson had anything incouraging for us, why hold it all back?? are we still dealing?? healthcare vote... I don't see the same sentiment from Kosmos or Posey these days..
I'll withhold comment till the Prez speaks to us on TAX day.. boy that was a coincidence huh...
Just pulled off the I-95 exit ramp on to 192 in west Melbourne.
I seen to older Gentlemen holding signs, one read; Hungry Vietnam Vet, the next sign read; Hungry Korean War Vet. The next sign was planted in the ground behind the two gentlemen, and it read "Coming Soon KSC worker".
As an American and retired NASA employee I am truly saddened by the President's decision to cut funding for future space transportation systems. NASA's budget is less than 1% of the overall Federal budget yet it returns $10 to the public for every dollar spent. What other Federal agency gives us any return much less that much? But that aside; for 50 years the nation has always been proud of the American role in space travel and exploration. Each one of us can remember where we were and how we felt with each triumph and each tragedy. What price to we set on slashing a program that provided us all a well needed National Pride?
"NASA = Glorified Social Welfare Program."
That's just Antagonist again, copying and pasting his usual rhetoric, grammar errors and all. Glad to see Nelson drinking the Koolaide...just another reason to get rid of the loute in 2012.
Watching the Union boys begging for their jobs from their slave master Obama....Priceless!
For all of you who don't believe the space program is all government, most of those out there are commercial contractors working for commercial companies and not government employees. The average commercial contractor makes half, if that, of the NASA employee. It's the commercial companies that are already flying the shuttle while the professional, over paid, coffee cup holders stand back and watch us do all the work. My husband and I are contractors out there making ends meet. They aren't high paying jobs. We make the same as what everyone else on the economy makes. If anyone wants to start pointing their fingers, start pointing it at the current administration and make them accountable for their overspending and make it a fixed cost for their employees. All of us contractors have to work on a budget. Why doesn't the actual NASA employees or the Director?
Nelson will retire at the end of his term, don't listen to him....
he's going to retire!
Don't you just love these coy politicians. "Excellent conversation" means what?
Answer, Nelson is just blowing smoke and wishfully thinking.
Eric Fryberger wrote:
"Again, all the big talkers with the 'smart' opinions choose to remain anonymous. Come on, use your real name and be proud of your opinion--or is it you only talk big when you hide behind anonymity?"
Roger that. The anonymity of the Internet gives courage to cowards.
When China lands humans on the Moon they will burn your flags, lack of atmosphere no problem, they will work that one out.
It's time for Nelson to go. He's forgotten which master he serves. It's the People of Florida, not the man in the White House or the Democratic Party.
Time's up for him and Obama in 2012.
In the meantime, devastation in Brevard.
senator Nelson is just another bs artist
billy does what ever Harry Reid tells him to do
P. Darvio wrote:
"When China lands humans on the Moon they will burn your flags, lack of atmosphere no problem, they will work that one out."
And your proof of that is ...?
China is nowhere near a manned lunar program. All they have is a study:
http://spaceksc.blogspot.com/2010/03/report-china-studies-moon-rocket.html
They hope to have a robotic mission pick up some Moon rocks and 2017 and return them to Earth -- 45 years after we last did it.
But they're also considering joining a NASA-led joint international robotic Moon exploration program:
http://spaceksc.blogspot.com/2010/03/china-considers-returning-moon-rocks-to.html
The evidence is overwhelming that China is nowhere near a manned lunar mission. Their current technology is about where we were with Gemini.
Smith & Fryberger??? You must be joking right? Smith??? Frycook, er, I mean Fryaburger, er, Fryberger, yeah that's it. I belive I could pick a better name than those if I wanted to have people think that I was using my REAL name. Y'all are as full of it as Obama and Nelson and the rest of the liars and thieves.
Time's up for him and Obama in 2012...2012...time will be up for all of us...maybe
Some of you people are simply too illiterate to live!
How do you function out in the world?
Senator Nelson does not believe what President Obama said, he asked Him to explain it to the people of Brevard and the nation. He had a good talk which means: the talk will do the walk to the plank for all Brevard residents and the nation as a whole for US supremacy in Space is needed for the safety of our families and our nation.
"The scientists, engineers, and workers that have built this program deserve better than what the current future seems to hold for them and if the government does not look out for them we will loose a lot of talent; these people have families to feed too. We can give trillions away for disasters in other countries but we can't maintain leadership in space? The aerospace workers don't want a hand-out, they just want to continue working on a space program for the benefit of us all. Tell your government representatives to let the president know we need a space program!"
Discard the workforce trained in Space exploration and tell the US workforce Obama does not follow through the collective need of the people of the US. Who will study science or medicine or engineering in the future? No need for those anymore if these professions can be disregarded and retrained as: road workers, census takers, police force to keep the masses under control, vigilant force to keep 'more' documents sealed and more meetings without Sunshine Law.
Senator Nelson knows what is proposed is not good for him, for his family, for his County, for his nation and wants the president to explain thinking he may be able to be elected again because the president explained it better (put the pressure on him)to support a private agenda and to disregard the Will of the people.
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the April 15 Florida Space Summit sounds as the "LAST CHANCE" to define a good US spaceflight program and to save the 23,000 space-related jobs
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if you want to discuss about the future of the US spaceflights and give your suggestions join this "Florida Space Summit on April 15" Facebook Group
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http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=356261201268
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This whole thing of Senators/Congressmen now wanting to extend the shuttle program is making me sick. It pisses me of that they are doing it now. Why not 3 years ago?
I think I know why.
When Constellation was going to be the replacement program, people accepted the fact that 4,500 people would lose their jobs when the shuttle program was going to retire in 2010. We also accepted the fact that we would have to rely on the Russians during that gap until Constellation would be flying. We also knew that NASA never gets a new program on time. They have a track record for things taking longer.
Why are Senators/Congressmen now wanting to extend the Shuttle program and didn't do it 3 years ago?
I feel it's because many senior management in United Space Alliance, Boeing, etc., are not threatened with losing their jobs. I didn't see those Senators/Congressmen trying to save the jobs of the 4,500 people who would get laid off even though the Constellation program was going to be the Shuttle replacement.
It's hard to discern legitimate comments with mindless and political rabble.
I work at KSC, as do my colleagues and bosses.
Def not dumb hicks, especially if i've worked hard to get here with
my 2 college degrees.
We knew Shuttle would end.
Eventually it has to.
Can't fly forever
Most people planned, some have already left.
Many were counting on Constellation.
Scrapping it with all the accomplishments made makes no sense to me.
IMHO
Words are cheap do not tell me you receiced one more Shuttle Launch that is nothing,
That will be great words you received from the president I expect nothing more from this Medicare President's tunnel vision.
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