Although the Obama Administration won’t release its budget until Monday, the battle over the future of NASA has already begun. Administration officials have begun to outline their plans for the space agency, which include cancellation of the lunar program. Meanwhile, opposition is building on Capitol Hill. Florida Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) sent out a press release on Wednesday:

“Although Congress awaits the President’s official budget request next week, I am deeply concerned over news reports citing Administration officials that the President seems determined to abdicate America’s leadership in human space exploration. Just weeks before the 2008 election, then-Senator Obama came though Central Florida promising the nation and the residents of Brevard County that if elected President, he would close the space gap and keep America first in space. If this news report is even half right, this plan, if you can call it a plan, would be a devastating reversal of that commitment.

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Obama officials: Ares dead and $6bn destined for commercial rockets
Orlando Sentinel

Administration officials and a former astronaut on Wednesday called  President Barack Obama’s plans for NASA “exciting” and “bold”, saying that he was replacing a failed moon program with a new $6 billion project to develop commercial rockets capable of taking astronauts into orbit.

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Artist Impression of Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo/SpaceShipOne over Spaceport America in New Mexico.

New Mexico’s Big Investment (Spaceport America) Should Pay Out
KFOX14

Construction of Spaceport America is under way and is expected to be complete within a year. But at this point, many people, especially taxpayers in the state of New Mexico, want to know if the Spaceport will pay out. Well, according to Spaceport America, there has already been over 300 flights sold and at $200,000 a piece, there’s been at least $42 million shelled out in deposits and some full-paid flights.

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Altair on the moon

Obama aims to ax moon mission
Orlando Sentinel

NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the moon are dead. So are the rockets being designed to take them there — that is, if President Barack Obama gets his way.

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The documentary “Space Tourists” has premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

NASA PROGRAM UPDATE

NASA and the Israel Space Agency have signed a joint statement that recognizes the Israel Network for Lunar Science and Exploration, or INLSE, as an affiliate partner with the NASA Lunar Science Institute at the agency’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

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A pair of leading space figures have weighed in on the growing problem of space debris. Reuters reports:

World powers must find ways to reduce the amount of debris in orbit, as the collision risk it poses to spacecraft is increasing, the head of the U.S. Strategic Command said on Wednesday.

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New GSLV rocket engine forces Indian launch delays
Spaceflight Now

Trouble with a new cryogenic engine is delaying India’s plans to debut an updated all-Indian version of its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, the most powerful rocket in the country’s inventory.

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This view from the front hazard-avoidance camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the position of Spirit's front wheels following a backward drive during the 2,154th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Jan. 23, 2010). The view is toward the north. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

After 10 months of effort, NASA has given up on trying to free Spirit from the sand trap that it drove into on Mars. The space agency has declared the rover – which has been on Mars for six years – as a “stationary science platform.”

I know it’s probably disappointment, but the rover will still conduct valuable science. Six years is an amazing time to be on Mars. For anyone feeling a bit sad, this video might lighten the mood a bit. Hey, it can happen to anyone!

The full press release is after the break.
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Russia loses science powerhouse standing
Reuters

Political turmoil, a brain drain of scientists and waning interest have transformed Russia from a nation that launched the first satellite into an increasingly minor player in the world of science, according to a Thomson Reuters report released on Tuesday.

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NASA PROGRAM UPDATE

A NASA team looking into design concepts for future space capsules has successfully demonstrated that an all-composite structure is a feasible alternative to traditional metal capsules for carrying astronauts into space and returning them safely to Earth.

The composite materials that make up the structure are basically the same as the tough, lightweight laminates used today for race cars, business jets and high-end sports equipment.

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Miles O’Brien interviews SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who disputes claims that private space rockets are unsafe.