NASA ANNOUNCES TWO NEWS CONFERENCES TO DISCUSS THE 2011 BUDGET AND A
BOLD NEW APPROACH TO EXPLORATION
WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold news conferences on Monday, Feb. 1, and
Tuesday, Feb. 2, to discuss the fiscal year 2011 budget request and
announce bold new developments in the nation's civil space effort.
Astronomy.FM Radio will carry these events live.
On Monday, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Chief Financial
Officer Beth Robinson will brief reporters about the agency's fiscal
year 2011 budget during a teleconference at 12:30 p.m. US Eastern time
(1730 UTC).
On Tuesday, Administrator Bolden, Dr. John Holdren, Assistant to the
President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House
Office of Science and Technology Policy, will introduce new commercial
space pioneers, launching a game-changing way of developing technology
to send humans to space.
The announcement will take place at 10 a.m. US Eastern time (1500 UTC)
in the National Press Club's ballroom, located at 529 14th Street NW
in Washington.
In addition to the two NASA events, Deputy Administrator Lori Garver
will participate with Dr. Holdren in a briefing by the Office of
Science and Technology Policy about the federal government's 2011
research and development budget. The briefing will take place at 1
p.m. US Eastern time (1800 UTC), Monday, Feb. 1 in the auditorium of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Summary of Events
What: Fiscal Year 2011 budget briefing
When: 12:30 p.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 1
Who: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Chief Financial Officer
Beth Robinson
What: Briefing by the Office of Science and Technology Policy on the
federal government's 2011 research and development budget
When: 1 p.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 1
Who: NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver and Dr. John Holdren,
assistant to the President for science and technology and director of
the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Where: The American Association for the Advancement of Science's
auditorium
What: Newsmaker event at the National Press Club
When: 10 a.m. EST on Tuesday, Feb. 2
Who: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Dr. John Holdren, assistant
to the President for science and technology and director of the White
House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Where: The National Press Club
NASA budget and supporting information will be posted at 12:30 p.m.,
Feb. 1, at:
http://www.nasa.gov/budget
***BREAKING NEWS!***
> WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold news conferences on Monday, Feb. 1, and
> Tuesday, Feb. 2, to discuss the fiscal year 2011 budget request and
> announce bold new developments in the nation's civil space effort.
Despite the abandonment of the plan to return to the Moon and go to
Mars... which, although regrettable, was not totally unexpected all
along... this is not impossible. Unmanned space exploration returns a
great deal of scientific knowledge at a fraction of the cost.
Ultimately, we still need to send people into space to complete the
task, but there is simply no compelling reason to go to Mars now like
the one we had to go to the Moon.
And, of course, there has to be some way to get American astronauts to
the ISS.
John Savard
We carried the first two press briefings on Astronomy.FM today. There
is a detailed briefing to be held at the AAAS tomorrow (Tuesday), at
10pm US Eastern time (1500 UTC); we'll carry that event live as well.
Today's briefing referenced several written statements. We have the
links to the statements on our website:
http://astronomy.fm/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=581
I expect that on AFM*Radio tonight (starting at 9pm Eastern / 0200
UTC) we shall begin the pissing, moaning, and general gnashing of
teeth, as we discuss "NASA, whatzup?"
Thanks for listening! ~Michael
Quadibloc wrote:
Firstly, O'bama will very likely not be in office more than
one term -
Secondly, there are strong military-national defense needs
the Obama plan does not take into consideration. The
Pentagon and the Joint Chiefs and related Congressional Committees, have
yet to weigh in on this -
Thirdly, I dont know why NASA is weighing in so early as if this is a
done-deal. It is NOT a done-deal for all of the
reasons cited above. NASA is not the DOD or Congress!
NASA should stop pimping ..... before the clients have even arrived!?
>
> John Savard
> Firstly, O'bama will very likely not be in office more than
> one term -
I suppose that's possible, if the Republicans decide they'll
filibuster all legislation the country needs until they're given power
back again.
I wish they could put the Republicans in charge of foreign affairs and
the Democrats in charge of the economy, but unfortunately, there is no
such option on the ballot. If it isn't possible to find Republicans
who don't serve the wealthy, or Democrats who value the nation's
security, it's time for Americans to look for a Populist party to vote
for.
John Savard
> Today's briefing referenced several written statements.
According to Buzz Aldrin, Obama's direction lays a more solid
foundation for actually getting people to Mars eventually than that of
G. W. Bush.
That might even be true, but I'm not sure if the reasons are ones
anyone would like.
One obvious possibility is that the Democrats will be in power for a
while, so the program won't fly unless they can say it's their idea.
The other is that since Bush never really tried to fund his plan,
"slow and steady wins the race" is applicable here.
Or even: the Apollo program followed Sputnik, so don't expect a
serious U.S. attempt to send men to Mars until _after_ Chinese
"taikonauts" walk on the Moon.
Then there's first we have to overcome the opposition to nuclear power
before we can get the American economy (and maybe even Western
civilization) positioned to survive long enough to support a Mars
mission.
John Savard
He's doing what Clinton did, selling the U.S. out to China. It made
Clinton a very rich man.