[Satellite TODAY 04-14-10] NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told audience members at the 2010 Space Symposium that U.S. President Barack Obama’s new direction for NASA should be seen as a transformative effort rather than a massive budget cut.
    “Both NASA and the president are absolutely committed to a vibrant future for human spaceflight … We will use innovative technologies developed in a step-wise approach,” said Bolden.
    In its 2010 fiscal year governmental budget, released Feb. 1, the White House terminated NASA’s work on Orion, the follow-up vehicle to the Space Shuttle; ended development on two NASA rockets designed to fly manned missions to the moon; and set aside funding to hand over space transportation and future human exploration mission to private commercial companies.
    Bolden said that he did not “tip the president’s hand” in creating the budget and that anxious space industry personnel should wait until Obama’s scheduled speech during a space conference on Thursday, where he is scheduled to give more details on the NASA budget.
    “NASA will now take small steps along a game-changing path. The re-focus with international and commercial partners is a move that aims to promote competition and allow innovation to thrive,” Bolden said.

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