Presidential Space Visit Update
Keith’s note:NASA TV has “special coverage” of todays events in Florida here at 2:40 p.m. when President Barack Obama speaks.
NASA Announces Conference on the American Space Program for the 21st Century
“Following the President’s remarks, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will host a conference overview, beginning at 3:45 p.m. EDT, with Norm Augustine, chair, Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee and John Holdren, assistant to the President for science and technology and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The conference overview and the four concurrent conference sessions, beginning at 4:25 p.m., will take place in both the Operations and Checkout Building and in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will host a conference wrap-up with the four panel moderators at 5:40 p.m. in the visitor complex’s Astronaut Encounter Theater.”
Feud Over NASA Threatens America’s Edge in Space, Wall Street Journal
“Even the Florida summit sparked friction. White House aides initially encouraged lawmakers to organize the event, but then decided to do it themselves. Aides to Mr. Obama then promised to reserve tickets for any members of Congress who wanted to attend, according to legislators and staffers. But invitations were later limited, according to a White House email this week that blamed Democratic Congressional leaders and apologized for “any misunderstanding.”
Keith’s note: Apparently all manner of space advocacy groups have mananged to get tickets – and are bragging about that fact – yet rank and file KSC employees are not as lucky.
Buzz Aldrin gets ride on Air Force One, CNN
“Buzz Aldrin is used to traveling on high-profile missions. His 240,000-mile trip to the moon on July 20, 1969, set the precedent. On Thursday, Aldrin is hitching a ride aboard Air Force One to Cape Canaveral’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at the invitation of President Obama, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said. It appears to be just one of the perks for being on Obama’s side of the controversy over the president’s new space program, which cancels former President George W. Bush’s plan to return U.S. astronauts to the moon by 2020.”
