The Augustine Commission is recommending cancellation of the Ares I rocket—which NASA spent hundreds of millions of dollars on as its future manned orbital launcher (for earth-orbital missions.)
This is supposed to save money. Instead, that group advised NASA to alter and use an existing commercial rocket—developed by the employers of commission members—which is not currently [...]

As 2010 begins, the future of NASA—especially its manned flight program—is a big question mark.
The Augustine Commission, composed largely of people connected to the biggest aerospace companies, have provided some options for President Obama to consider. They have also cast doubt on the new Ares launcher–which NASA has been developing for future manned missions. Instead, [...]

The Ares rocket—NASA’s next generation launcher designed to take people back to the moon and beyond—has received an endorsement from the U.S. House of Representatives. They agreed to fund its continued development…at least for a year.
I’m still dubious about the survival of Ares. The president isn’t too excited about it, and the Senate is very [...]

Yes. You read that right.
The headlines portrays the Augustine commission’s position as a call for a “public-private partnership” for manned space travel. But what’s important here is what’s NOT being emphasized. The commission wants funding to be provided to commercial companies to develop their own manned spacecraft and for NASA to cancel its entire manned [...]

An opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal promotes NASA ceding low earth orbit to commercial companies. This matches the recommendations of the Augustine Commission and, no doubt, the genuine opinions of the former astronauts who wrote the opinion piece.
In many cases, this position also matches the interests of the commercial aerospace companies that employ [...]

I love the Augustine Commission. They told it straight: either put up or shut up. No bucks, no Buck Rogers.
The last two Bush administrations (the senior and junior) outlined expansive visions for space exploration. And then, they offered paltry budgets which made that vision impossible. Lots of posturing, no commitment.
This time, whatever the outcome, the [...]

Spaceflight is expensive and, in the past, NASA has underestimated those costs. For example, as a re-usable space vehicle, the space shuttle was projected to be much cheaper to fly than it turned out.
Yet, the Mars Society claims that the Augustine Commission—which is charged with providing direction for NASA’s future in manned space flight—is over-estimating [...]

The Augustine Commission, which is developing and reviewing plans for NASA direction in manned space flight, has been told to present only three options. At the moment, they have seven.
Of the seven, only three stay within the budget within which NASA must work. These plans are tantalizing and disappointing.

Continue the Constellation program and return to [...]

After the shuttle retires, it may be as long as 9 years before NASA puts another person in space.
The Augustine Commission, which is reviewing ideas for NASA’s future, notes that the Constellation program (the successor to the shuttle) was viable to fly much sooner—but budget cuts destroyed that prospect.

NASA didn’t fail; the government did
In other [...]

What’s the future of NASA?
The Augustine commission will come out with some proposals, a variety of ideas. But NASA has funding for none of them.
One cost-cutting idea that still allows for significant gains in manned space travel suggests missions to Venus and asteroids—without landing. Not a bad idea. Landings require development and testing of additional [...]