MAIN ARTICLE: Updated: Obama Administration needs $18.7b for NASA.
President Obama promised a 2 billion dollar increase for NASA during the campaign. New budget increases NASA funding by $700 million in 2010.
Poll Results: The poll yesterday had an above average turnout but almost a dead tie. Scroll down for the latest in space polling, click subscribe to stay informed.
Star Trek: In the News. "J.J. Abrams 'greedy' for Star Trek" Scroll down for the latest from Yahoo News in the UK-Ireland.
Yesterday's Comments: "It would be nice If Vandenberg could have successfully launched the damn global warming monitoring satellite. Did they have some idiot from a Wall Street investment bank in charge of launch operations" - Ed in Montana
Today's Poll: Should President Obama add another $1.3 bil to NASA's Budget?
UPDATE:
Budget summery (PDF - 146 pages)
The NASA section starts on page 103.
Aviation Week is reporting that President Obama is going to request a $700 million increase for NASA.
Obama Will Stick with Bush Moon Plan
"The fiscal 2010 NASA budget outline to be released by the Obama Administration Feb. 26 adds almost $700 million to the out-year figure proposed in the fiscal 2009 budget request submitted by former President Bush, and sticks with the goal of returning humans to the moon by 2020.
The $18.7 billion that Obama will request for NASA - up from $18.026 billion for fiscal 2010 in the last Bush budget request - does not include the $1 billion NASA will receive in the $787 billion stimulus package that President Barack Obama signed Feb. 16.
Aviation Week has learned that in addition to the human-lunar return, Obama wants to continue robotic exploration with probes to Mars and other Solar System destinations, as well as a space telescope to probe deeper into the universe.
He will request increases in Earth Science, in keeping with his call Feb. 24 for action on global warming. And he will ask for additional funds for the NextGen satellite-based air traffic control modernization effort within NASA's aeronautics request.
In addition to those newly requested funds, under the stimulus package the space agency will receive $400 million for back-to-the-moon exploration work; $400 million for science directed at climate-change space missions and the supercomputing capability needed for climate modeling; $150 million for aeronautics, including NextGen, and $50 million for repairs to hurricane damage suffered in 2008."
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In 2004 President Bush outlined a new direction for America's Space Program, the Vison for Space Exploration (VSE). Ex NASA Chief, Michael Griffin, put foreward the Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS) and the Constellation program was born.
The Constellation program is not mentioned by name, nor the two rockets. Many would like to see a end of the Ares I that will launch the Orion crew capsule and use an alternative launch system.
POLL RESULTS:
Yesterday's poll: "Should America create a new Department of Space (DOS)" had a stronger then average turnout. This was Buzz Aldrin's suggestion in a recent paper that was published online. 40% of the DKOS members taking part in the poll thought it was bad idea, 37% were in favor of it. There was a very high no opinion in this poll at 21%.
STAR TREK: In the News.
J.J. Abrams 'greedy' for Star Trek
"The 'Lost' creator was originally asked only to produce the sci-film film but demanded directing duties as well after reading the script.
He said: "The studio wanted to give the film a fresh start and I was originally brought in as a producer but upon reading the script, I saw so much potential and possibility that the original had failed to realise due to technological constraints, so I got very greedy and decided to direct it myself."
The movie - written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman - will be the eleventh film based on the cult 60s TV series"
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YESTERDAY'S COMMENTS:
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"Blogosphere would have a field day with an acronym like "DOS." Dig out your old MS Basic jokes.
But on the whole, the idea makes perfect sense. I don't think Aldrin is suggesting a regulatory agency - he's suggesting a department to guide federal money toward space exploration and development as part of a unified vision.
Imagine if the thinking behind COTS D and the prize competitions were elaborated to the scale of an entire Cabinet-level department, and if that department was explicitly tasked with things (e.g., colonization) that NASA only hints at culturally." - Troubadour
"Re: Lobbying for more NASA funding Last year (in February 2008) Republican staff told me that even if they agreed more money for NASA was needful, their boss wouldn't cross President Bush.
If Bush said $17.4 billion for NASA, that was all they would vote for even if they would give NASA $20 billion if it was up to them and although they agreed NASA was woefully underfunded. Standing by Dubya was more important.
Interestingly enough, the budget I lobbied on last February (February 2008) still has not been passed and there is yet another omnibus now pending.
This year, President Obama shall VERY SOON release the FY10 budget and conventional wisdom is that the Democrats in Congress are not going to be all that confrontational with their new President, although there should be a little less sense of a need to follow the Decider's lead.
Hopefully we shall like the top line number." - Bill White
TODAY'S POLL:
President Obama pledged 2 billion dollars for NASA on the campaign trail in Florida. This 700 million increase is a down payment or this is enough for now.
Read other NASA and Space diaries on DKOS.