Yesterday, NASA administrator Charles Bolden met with Hillary Clinton. They discussed international cooperation on space programs. From the
State department twitter: Sec. Clinton and NASA Administrator Bolden exchanged ideas on how the State Depart. and NASA can use space to advance foreign policy goals.
Obama's plan for NASA is expected in February. Bolden also spoke at an astronomy conference in Washington:
Bolden said NASA is still working closely with the White House to determine the future of the space program.
"I don't know what the president's decision is going to be," Bolden said. "However, having been around him and talked to him and having watched him when he's interfaced with astronauts, kids and everybody else, I cannot see this president being the president who presided over the end of human space exploration."
President Obama is weighing several options presented by a panel of experts in October on the next step in NASA's troubled Constellation moon program. The White House chartered the Augustine committee after delays in the program pushed the first launch of the new Ares 1 rocket to at least 2015, and potentially until 2017.
The program's ultimate destination and architecture are both subject to change under Obama's pending decision.
"What I know, however, is that science is important to our president, important to NASA, and crucial to whatever way forward we are to follow," Bolden said. Spaceflight Now
