Obama Backtracks on NASA Capsule

[n2doc]

Analysis by Irene Klotz | Tue Apr 13, 2010 09:23 PM ET

In the face of united bipartisan opposition to his plans to cancel NASA's follow-on shuttle program, President Obama is reviving the capsule component of the scuttled Constellation program and setting a time frame for development of a new heavy-lift booster intended to take astronauts beyond Earth's orbit for the first time since the Apollo moon missions ended in 1972.

Obama is scheduled to speak about the new policy on Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center. In advance of the president's speech, the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy Tuesday night released some details about the revamped plan.

http://news.discovery.com/space/obama-backtracks-on-nasa-capsule.html

[Phoonzang]

1. It makes no sense to make the Orion a crew escape vehicle

Either make it a fully-crewed vehicle or don't make it at all. Seems like it's just throwing a bone to keep the NASA workers happy. It saves jobs and all, but it's kind of...