Transition Update
Obama’s NASA Dilemma – The fate of the U.S. space program hangs in the balance, Technology Review
“While other presidents have had the luxury of putting off major decisions on NASA, the Obama administration has a deadline. By April 30, 2009, the new president must decide whether to shut down the Space Shuttle program–currently the United States’ only way to get humans into space and to service the International Space Station (ISS)–or extend the program at no small cost. While the current administration has signed an authorization bill to keep the Space Shuttle flying until the end of 2010, the legislation only prevents NASA management from mothballing Shuttle-related programs until the end of April 2009.”