Source: The Space Review
When President Obama visits the Kennedy Space Center this week to discuss the future of NASA, he should be greeted with praise for following the Augustine Committee’s recommendations—and criticism for not being bold enough.
Lost in the attention given to ending shuttle flights this year, as intended by President Bush, and the cancellation of the overcost and overweight Constellation program, are the promising initiatives to develop and deploy new generations of technology. At the core of the president’s proposed revamping of NASA is the focus on new technologies to reduce the cost and complexity of operating in space. NASA will restart its Institute for Advanced Concepts, eliminated in 2007 to help pay for Constellation cost overruns. Chief technologist Robert D. Braun will head the new Space Technology Program, which will offer research grants to encourage innovative ideas. These steps will revitalize the private, academic, and NASA technology base.
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