14 DAY TRIAL // Speaking recently at a conference, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said that critics to the changes proposed by the 2011 budget proposal for the space agency should not be afraid of the future. The official explained that change was not necessarily a bad thing, and that the new vision for space exploration should at least be given a chance. After US President Barack Obama sent his new budget proposal to the Congress, earlier this year, numerous voices said that plans for NASA were without aim, and that they threatened the country's leadership in space exploration, Space reports.
Bolden said that, though it might be difficult at first for NASA to change its long-term objectives, it was absolutely necessary for this to happen. He admitted that the agency risked losing thousands of some of the most highly skilled engineers in the world to the private sectors as Project Constellation and the shuttle program were shut down, but added that new opportunities would arise as well. The official spoke yesterday, April 13, at the 26th National Space Symposium, held in Colorado Springs. Space workers from the government and the military sectors, as well as the private industry, were in attendance.
His new speech comes only 48 hours ahead of Obama's own planned appearance at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Florida. This facility is to be the most severely affected by the changes in space policy that the president is proposing, and Obama wants to personally reassure workers here that alternatives to their previous jobs will be made available through new programs. The president and Bolden are working together to sway negative opinions on their proposal. The general public and the Congress are skeptical that canceling Project Constellation is indeed the way to go. Critics also blast the decision to hand over orbital-fairing capabilities to the private sector.
“Some of the controversy about what we’re about to do – I think a lot of it comes from people who are nervous about doing new things. I would say, as we are about to do something that a lot of people don't think we can do, take a deep breath and help us figure out a way to make these things work. Because I'm convinced we can do it,” the NASA Administrator told his audience. “Government has blazed the path to low-Earth orbit in the past. New players are now ready to engage that field,” he said, referring to the new plans to fund private companies with $6 billion for the next five years.
“The fundamental goal has not changed – to boldly advance human presence beyond the cradle of Earth. President Barack Obama is strongly committed to our future in space. We are so committed that we made the hard choice to undertake a new direction […] to find a more affordable and sustainable path. This is a big week for the entire nation. A week in which probably more people than ever before will be thinking about space,” Bolden said at the symposium.