Obama Grounds NASA

A TIME/CNN article today explains how Obama is increasing funding for NASA but killing pretty much all projects that involve sending people into space.

Sounded odd at first but it might be genius.

Main concepts:

Obama increases NASA budget to over $100 billion.
Obama basically cancels all projects having to do with sending people into space except for the so-far unfinished International Space Station.
Obama directs that the money be spent on things like,

• $4.9 billion to develop better robotics
• $7.8 billion to develop new flight techniques such as in-orbit fuel depots and closed-loop life-support systems
• $3 billion to develop new unmanned ships

In other words, he seems to be turning NASA into more of a national technology center that will develop practical, usable technology and away from a "let's-send-people-up-into-space-and-see-what-happens" agency.

Pretty cool if you ask me.

-Forsyth