Statement by Charlie Bolden
NASA Administrator
February 1, 2010
NASA Budget Press Conference
Good afternoon. I'm Charlie Bolden, and I am excited to be presenting to
you the President's budget request for NASA in fiscal year 2011, my first budget as
NASA Administrator.
President Obama today has given us a bold challenge -- to become an
engine of innovation, and the catalyst for an ambitious new space program that
includes and inspires people around the world. With this budget and the steps it
lays out, the United States and its partners in other nations, in industry, and in
academia will pursue a more sustainable and affordable approach to spaceflight
through the development of transformative technologies and systems. We will
blaze a new trail of discovery and development. We will facilitate the growth of
new commercial industries. And we will expand our understanding of the Earth,
our solar system, and the universe beyond. To accomplish these objectives, the
president has increased NASA's budget over the next five years by 6 billion
dollars, an extraordinary show of support in these tough budgetary times.
Americans and people worldwide have turned to NASA for inspiration
throughout our history – our work gives people an opportunity to imagine what’s
barely possible, and we at NASA get to turn those dreams into real achievements
for all humankind. I'm here today to tell you that this budget gives us a roadmap
to even more historic achievements as it spurs innovation, employs Americans in
exciting jobs, and engages people around the world.
When President Obama asked me to return to NASA, to lead the agency of
which I had so proudly been a part as a shuttle astronaut, he assured me how
much he valued space exploration, science and technology. The president is an
innovator; it's germane to his thinking. It was one of the reasons I was honored to
return.
We both agreed that as NASA moves forward into this still-young century,
we need a renewed commitment to invention and development, to the creative
and entrepreneurial spirit that is at the core of our country's character and that
these things would be
good
for NASA,
great
for the American workforce, and
essential
for our nation's future prosperity.
So let me start by giving you a broad outline of the budget plan, and then
I’ll follow up with more details.
First, with this budget we are demonstrating our commitment to extend
the life of the International Space Station, likely to 2020 or beyond. This will keep
a commitment to our international partners and develop the full potential of this
amazing orbiting laboratory where humans regularly do things we have never
done before. NASA is on track to fly out the remaining Space Shuttle manifest of
five flights, safely, and by the end of this calendar year. Within the week we'll be
launching Endeavour to the International Space Station to deliver the Tranquility
node, and a seven-windowed cupola that will be a control room for robotics and a
new window on the world for the ISS astronauts.
Next, the president has laid out a dynamic plan for NASA to invest in critical
and transformative technologies. These will enable our path beyond low Earth
orbit through development of new launch and space transportation technologies,
nimble construction capabilities on orbit, and new operations capabilities.
Imagine trips to Mars that take weeks instead of nearly a year; people fanning out
across the inner solar system, exploring the Moon, asteroids and Mars nearly
simultaneously in a steady stream of “firsts;” and imagine all of this being done
collaboratively with nations around the world. That is what the President’s plan
for NASA will enable, once we develop the new capabilities to make it a reality.
NASA will accelerate and enhance its support for the commercial
spaceflight industry to make travel to low Earth orbit and beyond more accessible
and more affordable. Imagine enabling hundreds, even thousands of people to
visit or live in low Earth orbit, while NASA firmly focuses its gaze on the cosmic
horizon beyond Earth.
The President is also deeply committed to NASA's vital programs to
understand our home planet, and has given us the means to increase our efforts
to learn more about our changing climate.
The budget has a specific focus on green aviation and safer air
transportation through such initiatives as the Next Generation Air Transportation
System or NextGen, and we're also expanding our commitment to science and
technology education. More on all of these new or expanded initiatives in a
minute.
Now let’s discuss the Constellation Program. The Program was planning to
use an approach similar to Apollo to return astronauts to the Moon some 50
years after that program’s triumphs. The Augustine Committee observed that this
path was not sustainable, and the President agrees. They found that
Constellation key milestones were slipping, and that the program would not get
us back to the moon in any reasonable time or within any affordable cost. Far
more funding was needed to make our current approach work. The Augustine
Committee estimated that the heavy lift rocket for getting to the moon would not
be available until 2028 or 2030, and even then they found “there are insufficient
funds to develop the lunar lander and lunar surface systems until well into the
2030s, if ever." So as much as we would not like it to be the case, and taking
nothing away from the hard work and dedication of our team, the truth is that we
were not on a path to get back to the moon's surface. And as we focused so
much of our effort and funding on just getting to the Moon, we were neglecting
investments in the key technologies that would be required to go beyond.
So this budget cancels the Constellation Program, including the Ares I and V
rockets and the Orion crew exploration vehicle. NASA intends to work with the
Congress to make this transition smooth and effective, working responsibly on
behalf of the Taxpayers.
With my deepest gratitude, I commend the hard work and dedication that
thousands of NASA and contractor workers have given to Constellation over the
last few years. Their commitment has brought great value to the agency, and they
will have a pivotal role to play in our future path. Many of the things we've
learned will be critical as we move forward. Norm Augustine and his blue ribbon
panel of experts, whose advice the President wisely sought, gave us some options
for a different path. From those, we have built the path that we are taking.
That is the broad outline. What you can see is that, while there will no
doubt be challenges as a result of cancelling Constellation, the funding for NASA is
increasing
, so we expect to support as many if not more jobs with the FY 2011
funding the President has proposed. Those jobs may not, however, be
concentrated on a few manufacturing and development contracts. Moreover,
taking the long view, investments in science and technology innovation have
proven to stimulate enhanced job growth, through the development of new
opportunities for industry across our nation.
Now let me add some specifics to some of the individual points I’ve made.
We're going to start by using the International Space Station as the national
lab that it was envisioned to be. We will make full use of its incredible potential,
and enhance our use of its research and development capabilities on-board. All
kinds of educators, colleges, science institutions, and other government agencies,
will be using the ISS for research. There's so much we need to know before we
can venture safely out of low Earth orbit for the long term. We're going to address
practical medical questions about astronaut bone density and the effects of
radiation; how we can reach destinations sooner to mitigate the effects on space
travelers of long journeys. In addition, NASA will support a broad array of
biological, materials, and combustion research aboard ISS, which will advance our
spaceflight capabilities, as well as benefit those disciplines more broadly. We will
also fly Earth observation instruments aboard ISS, to expand our understanding of
our home planet, and use this platform as a test bed for future exploration
technologies. These are just a few of the things that we will pursue on a fully
utilized International Space Station.
In addition, NASA remains on track to fly out the remaining Space Shuttle
manifest of five flights safely by the end of calendar year 2010. The FY 2011
Budget provides the additional resources required to do so, ensuring that the
Shuttle workforce will be fully utilized during that time.
Now let’s move on to focus on the exciting, new programs in this budget.
NASA will partner with the aerospace industry in a fundamentally new way to
provide astronaut transportation to the International Space Station. An enhanced
U.S. commercial space industry will create new high-tech jobs and spin off other
new businesses that will seek to take advantage of affordable access to space.
With today’s budget, we are taking immediate steps to help launch this bold
vision and the pioneers who will help make the plan a reality.
Today we are using stimulus funds to help drive the beginnings of a
commercial crew industry and the as many as 5,000 new jobs that industry
suggests it can create.
I am pleased to announce that NASA will award approximately $50M to
further the commercial sector’s capability to support transport of crew to and
from low Earth orbit. Through an open competition, NASA has awarded Space Act
Agreements to:
Blue Origin of Kent, Washington;
The Boeing Company of Houston, Texas;
Paragon Space Development Corporation of Tucson, Arizona;
Sierra Nevada Corporation of Louisville, Colorado; and
United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, for the development of
crew concepts, technology demonstrations, and investigations for future
commercial support of human spaceflight. We will be discussing these awards in
more detail, and introducing you to the space pioneers behind them tomorrow at
our event at the National Press Club.
Commercial launch vehicles have for years carried all U.S. military and
commercial – and most NASA – satellites to orbit. Now, as 50 years ago when we
upgraded existing rockets for the Gemini program, NASA will set standards and
processes to ensure that these commercially built and operated crew vehicles are
safe. No one cares about safety more than I. I flew on the space shuttle four
times. I lost friends in the two space shuttle tragedies. So I give you my word
these vehicles will be safe. They will fulfill a critical NASA need, spur industrial
innovation, and free up NASA to do the bold, forward-leaning work that we need
to do to explore beyond Earth.
To that end, the President's budget provides new investments in three new,
vigorous technology development programs to expand the capabilities of future
explorers far beyond what we have today. We'll embark on this transformative
technology initiative with our workforce partnering with the best in industry and
academia and with our international partners. The first program, funded at $7.8
billion over five years, will invent and demonstrate large-scale, new and novel
approaches to spaceflight such as in-orbit fuel depots and rendezvous and
docking technologies, and closed-loop life support systems so that our future
robotic and human exploration missions are both highly capable and more
affordable.
At $3.1 billion over five years, an aggressive, new heavy lift research and
development program will focus on development of new engines, propellants,
materials and combustion processes, ultimately leading to innovative ways of
accessing space to go beyond low Earth orbit. This will increase our capabilities
and significantly lower operations costs – with the clear goal of taking us farther
and faster into space. And the budget also provides $4.9 billion over 5 years for a
broad space technology program, including investments in very early stage and
game-changing approaches, cross-cutting technologies such as communications,
sensors and robotics, and a flight demonstration program for these game
changing technologies. These programs will use prizes and other innovative
research funding mechanisms to support the most worthwhile ideas.
In addition to the trailblazing technology programs, the President’s budget
provides $3 billion over five years for robotic exploration precursor missions that
will pave the way for later human exploration of the moon, Mars and nearby
asteroids. Like the highly successful Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and LCROSS
missions that captured our attention last fall, future exploration precursor
missions will expand on these successes, visiting more places in the inner solar
system, with greater capabilities. These missions will inform us of the most
interesting places to explore with humans, and validate our approaches to get
them there safely and sustainably.
In the science world, the president's plan supports space science research
grants and dozens of operating and planned missions to study the planets and
stars. We'll be sending a mission on the closest ever approach to the sun and
enhancing our capability to detect and catalog near Earth objects that might pose
a threat but can also help us understand the history of our solar system.
This budget provides expanded opportunities in two other very important
areas, aligned with critical national needs: climate change and aeronautics.
NASA's Earth science program has contributed greatly to our ability to understand
climate change and its wide-ranging impacts. Over $2 billion in additional funds in
this budget will accelerate the development of new missions to observe, from our
highest vantage point, the Earth and its processes. We'll accelerate the
development of crucial satellites to improve our forecasting of climate change,
focusing on the key unknowns in our ability to predict future climate impacts.
We’ll pursue new carbon monitoring capabilities, and observe our changing ice
sheets. And we will continue to make our new datasets available to all, as we
contribute critical knowledge to leaders across the world who must help us adapt
to our changing world.
In aeronautics, NASA will focus on technologies and applications to reduce
aircraft fuel needs, noise, and emissions. These improvements to future air
transportation will promote both the economic and environmental health of this
country.
Finally, and in many ways, this is one of the most important aspects of this
budget; we are absolutely committed to inspiring young people. We want to
ignite their passion for science and math, technology and engineering, professions
that are critical now and will only grow more important in the future. The
President shares my dedication to this work and has provided additional
resources to help young minds connect with the world of space exploration. Our
Summer of Innovation
initiative this year will begin a massive collaboration with
thousands of middle school teachers and students to engage in stimulating,
hands-on math and science programs that draw on the best and most exciting
NASA resources. Kids absolutely go crazy for space and the things we are doing,
and I know we have huge potential to capitalize on that, for the benefit of this
and future generations.
Let me close by saying that what we need, and what the President has
provided, is a fundamental reinvigoration of our nation's exploration effort. If we
are going to have the technology and capabilities needed for tomorrow, we have
to invest in them today. We must harness the nation's entrepreneurial energies
to fulfill our needs for access to low Earth orbit and reap the benefits of enabling
those new businesses.
This new path is a big change. I realize that. But it is not a change from the
guiding principles of NASA. It makes America stronger. It enables us to draw more
strongly on the ingenuity of the commercial sector and create deeper ties with
our international partners. We can't underestimate the rich promise of space
exploration to draw nations together, and this budget gives us the means and the
guidance to build even stronger alliances in the future. And it will inspire the
young people of our Nation and the world to engage with us on an incredible
journey of discovery. This change will be difficult and it will require that we all
work together – Congress and the Administration, industry and academia, existing
international partners and new, non-traditional international partners. Together
we can fulfill the vision supported by this budget.
So that is the overview of the President’s and my vision for NASA as we
move forward. I am honored to lead this storied agency as we create a 21
st
Century Space Program. Thank you.