Friday, April 16th, 2010

Restructuring Space Flight

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A full-scale mockup of NASA's Orion crew exploration vehicle on display in August 2009. Image credit: NASA/SSC

In February, President Obama unveiled his proposed budget for 2011. This week, President Obama rolled out some details of how those changing budgets and changing priorities will affect NASA -- including different roles for various NASA centers, the termination of the 'Constellation' launch vehicle moon program, and plans for a larger role for private business in space flight. We'll talk about the government's new space strategy, and what lies ahead for NASA. Is an eventual trip to Mars on the distant horizon?

Guests

Elon Musk
CEO and CTO
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)
Hawthorne, California

Bill Adkins
President, Adkins Strategies, LLC
Former Staff Director, House Space and Aeronautics Sub-Committee
Washington, D.C.

Howard McCurdy
Professor, School of Public Affairs
American University
Washington, D.C.

Related Links

Segment produced by:Flora Lichtman

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Image: Artist's conception of the Orion crew vehicle approaching the ISS.
Courtesy Lockheed-Martin.

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Image: An Orion mockup undergoing testing at Dryden.
NASA image.

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Image: Artist's rendering of the Orion crew capsule returning from space.
NASA image.

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