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Obama to Announce Scaled-Back Orion Capsule and 2,500 New Space Coast Jobs April 14, 2010 -- When President Barack Obama visits Kennedy Space Center tomorrow, he will announce his intention to revive some plans for a new crew capsule that NASA was desiging under the the agency's back-to-the-moon program. Mr. Obama wants to cancel that program, called Constellation, but the White House says he will explain how his new human spaceflight plan will create more than 2,500 jobs in the Kennedy Space Center area by 2012. The White House released new details today about the President's speech, scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at Kennedy Space Center. (Click here to read the White House preview.) According to the document, Mr. Obama will propose a scaled-back version of the Orion Crew Capsule, which NASA was desigining to take astronauts back to the moon under the Constellation program. Instead, the White House wants to build a simpler capsule that would be sent to the International Space Station and serve as an escape pod for the outpost. The President will also set 2015 as the deadline to decide on a heavy-lift rocket to eventually take humans to Mars and other areas beyond Earth's orbit. The White House says the new plan will create more than 2,500 additional jobs at and around the Kennedy Space Center, compared to the previous plan to send astronauts back to the moon. Join 90.7 WMFE for live coverage of President Obama's space policy address at Kennedy Space Center, scheduled for 3pm Thursday. |
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