is going to privatize the space program and that didn t work too well when we tried to privatize the war in iraq, the war in afghanistan. in general, we have a bad experience with there for the past two decades and i don t think this is going to be any different. there is no reason to believe that commercial entities can launch people or mass amounts of cargo into space. there is no evidence of that, no history of that, and we can t have the space program continue on a hope or a dream or a matter of faith. we can t turn nasa into a face-bathface faith-based initiative. why did we get to this point? when you look for example at the $9 million for the constellation program, under funded, some are saying it was never really feasible, that could be billions of dollars now gone and at a time when we re forced to look at some tough cuts, why did we even get to the point if it was run so well under the government, why are we at this point of talking about a possible private/public plan? i
so the point is what we re looking for is not just to continue on the same path, we want to leap into the future. we want major breakthroughs. a transformative agenda for nasa. now, yes, pursuing that new strategy will require we revise the old strategy. in part this is because the old strategy including the constellation program was not fulfilling its promise. that s not just my assessment. it s the assessment of a panel of respected nonpartisan experts charged with looking at these issues closely. despite this, some had harsh words for the decisions we ve made. including some individuals who i ve got enormous respect and admiration for. what i hope is everybody will take a look at what we are planning, consider the details of what we ve laid out and see
the other specific in here, the constellation program, it was behind schedule, it was overbudget. was it right to essentially abandon it and does that mean we are going to give up hope for, say, the millennium for returning to the moon? i don t think so at all. if you look at the program, let s ask the american taxpayer what would they prefer. would they prefer that we throw dollars away, throw good money after bad in a program that really could be retrofitted to do better work for us? or is it better to cut it off now when you look at what the annual budget of the united states is anyway, if we can save some money, let s save some money and put it where it really can be put to good use. i think the rest of the program as being described, once it really gets fully fleshed out and we see what all the details are, will allow for the possibility of sending people back to the moon without much difficulty at all. it s i think it s in there, it s just not the big target, keith, because
into space. thanks so much for joining me. you re welcome. where do you stand on this debate? well, i think where we are right now is that we have a shuttle program that is retiring, but we have to have a robust space program. and that robust space program is really supported, empowered, by our research and development, by allowing nasa to do the kind of work that nasa does really well, which is to do develop new propulsion systems, to look at how do we move forward? so when i think about this, i m on the side that president obama s plan is going to move us further. people are saying, well, what are we going to do? when we talk about sending astronauts to do fly-bys of asteroids, to be able to go further and further away from earth s orbit in a really planned fashion, that s important. and that s the work that s got to be done now. what about those who say, listen, you ve already spent billions in the constellation
use the word undefined. everything in that budget is undefined. there is no focus. the white house says that the just cancelled constellation program was way behind schedule and was unworkable. they hope that their plan leaps past the moon on to the moons of mars and eventually to mars itself. many big names in the space game, shep, are asking questions. are these goals too loosely defined? are they too far in the future? and have, perhaps, we given our rivals the chance to become the dominant leaders in space. shep? shepard: brian wilson live in kennedy space center. thank you. the president also made news with a brand new assessment of the war in afghanistan. he spoke to a television station in australia and said things that really things in that conflict are getting much better. that the taliban are losing momentum and that his plans to begin drawing down troops next year are right on track. the president says we can t be there in perpetuity. neither the american people nor th