Those knowledge capture exercises, he added, includethings like new computer models developed after NASA?s October 2008 test launchof Ares I-X, a prototype of its Ares I rocket designed to launch thenow-shelved Orion crew vehicle. ?We will look at everything that?s been developed, bothin terms of studies and designed, and hardware, to see where it might be usedin the future,? Cooke said. Cooke said he is optimistic that many of those lessons,and possibly some of the hardware developed, can be carried over onto the newpath. The shutdownswill come only after the 2011 budget proposal is enacted into law.īut until then, NASA engineers are taking a close look atthe lessons learned from their five years pursuing the moon with theConstellation program. NASA?s Constellation program workers will continue theirefforts under the space agency?s current 2010 budget, Cooke said. ?It is difficult, to be perfectly honest,? Cooke said.?It is difficult for those of us who have worked on it for a number of yearsand made sacrifices in order to make it successful.? ?We hope very soon to be able to give you a verydefinitive time schedule that we hope to reach some of these destinations,?Bolden said.ĭoug Cooke, NASA?s associate administrator for spaceexploration, said NASA must remain focused as the Constellation programcloses down and shifts into a new phase of human spaceflight. So those are some of the definitedestinations,? Bolden said.īut that list does not rule out other potential targets,he added. ?Anybody who talks about exploration beyond low-Earthorbit, there are some places that just naturally come to mind: the moon, Mars,asteroids and other near-Earth objects. The NASA chief did not set specific deadlines ordestinations, but hinted that the Earth?s moon, the asteroidsand Mars and its two moons were on the list as targets for human spaceexploration. ?It is more than a couple of weeks, but less than years,?Bolden said. Setting out a new long-range plan for NASA, he added,will take some time, but should not be drawn out. ?I?m not trying to fool anybody that this is going to beeasy,? Bolden said. Under Obama?s proposed budgetrequest, NASA would receive $6 billion a year for five years to supportcommercial spacecraft development. Bolden said that he and senior White House officialsexpect to spend the upcoming months crafting a new overarching goal for NASA,one which is focused on developing the technologies and capabilities forsending humans beyond low-Earth orbit once more.
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