Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center
President Obama’s new direction for NASA met with some mixed reactions from Florida officials, who are uncertain how the state — reeling from the impending end of the shuttle era – can best take advantage of the plan’s focus on commercial space.
Governor Charlie Crist said in a statement:
“I am concerned that President Obama’s decision to end NASA’s Constellation program, and prematurely conclude the nation’s significant investment in moon exploration, may place the nation’s space leadership role in question. Without a bold policy and goal for the future of American space exploration, we may cede our nations’ premier space leadership to other countries.
“Despite today’s announcement, there are significant opportunities for Florida in the commercial space industry, and I will work aggressively to ensure Florida is prepared to capitalize on these possibilities.”
The state agency chartered with promoting space development will have a crucial role in that effort:
Space Florida President Frank DiBello said Thursday his organization’s mission is more critical than ever now to support NASA and its contractors by bringing in high-tech businesses to Florida and the Space Coast.
He said with the impending space gap, combined with the potential 7,000 jobs lost when the shuttle program retires at the end of this year, the group is striving to woo companies interested in space bases applications to hire them.
DiBello said President Obama’s plan to refocus NASA’s goal from exploration to developing new technologies leaves him with doubts.
Administration officials say that they want to invest in the Kennedy Space Center to make it the nation’s premiere commercial launch facility. However, NASA officials are not sure of the details:
Even at Kennedy Space Center, director Bob Cabana acknowledged to reporters there are unanswered questions, including how KSC could support commercial rockets and whether private rockets would launch from KSC or nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
“We have to see how it all sorts yet. It’s still at a very high level, and we haven’t gotten the detailed budget to work through it,” Cabana said. “How it all sorts out; where we launch from; that’s still to be determined. We have a lot of work to do.”
Cabana was not even sure if the cancellation of Constellation would result in more job losses than the 7,000 expected after the space shuttle program ends later this year. “It’s going to be a process, and it’s going to be awhile before we know what the numbers are,” he said.
NASA officials said that they will be developing the plan in more detail in the months ahead.
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