EDITORIAL: Slowing the race for space
WacoTrib.com
Earth to U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby: The conquest of space won’t be won by odious pork-barrel politics.
Shelby, who has often joined other Republican lawmakers in Washington decrying President Obama’s economic recovery and reinvestment act, now ironically seeks to take millions of dollars in stimulus funds targeted for private space firms and funnel them instead into Constellation, NASA’s troubled rocket program in his home state of Alabama.
To get most of this cash, the Republican senator attacked private companies such as SpaceX, which seeks stimulus funds not only to further secure its position as NASA’s partner but to double the number of jobs at its McGregor rocket site, from 80 to 160.
It’s an odd position for Shelby, a supposed critic of pork-barrel politics and government waste. One reason that the White House was quick to consider private companies such as SpaceX is because the space shuttle retires next year and the Constellation program set to succeed it is behind schedule.
Read the full editorial.
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