Bolden Presents Administrations Position In NPC Speech
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden delivered a speech Friday at
the National Press Club in Washington, DC, about the agency's
future. "Some say that our final shuttle mission will mark the end
of America's 50 years of dominance in human spaceflight; as a
former astronaut and the current NASA administrator, I'm here to
tell you that American leadership in space will continue for at
least the next half-century because we have laid the foundation for
success – and failure is not an option," Bolden said in the
speech.
"President Obama has given us a Mission with a capital "M" -- to
focus again on the big picture of exploration and the crucial
research and development that will be required for us to move
beyond low Earth orbit. He's charged us with carrying out the
inspiring missions only NASA can do that will take us farther than
we've ever been. To orbit Mars and eventually land on it. He's
asked us to start planning a mission to an asteroid."
Bolden said the president is asking NASA to harness that
"American spirit of innovation, the drive to solve problems and
create capabilities that is so embedded in our story and has led us
to the moon, to great observatories, and to humans living and
working in space, possibly indefinitely. That American ingenuity is
alive and well, and it will fire up our economy and help us create
and win the future now."
He said when he hears people say -- or hears in the media
-- that the final Shuttle flight marks the end of U.S. human
spaceflight, "I have to say . . . these folks must be living on
another planet. We are not ending human space flight, we are
recommitting ourselves to it and taking the necessary -- and
difficult -- steps today to ensure America’s pre-eminence in
human spaceflight for years to come.
"We have to get out of the business of owning and operating
low-Earth orbit transportation systems and hand that off to the
private sector, with sufficient oversight to ensure the safety of
our astronauts. American companies and their spacecraft should send
our astronauts to the ISS, rather than continuing to outsource this
work to foreign governments."
Bolden said NASA's outlook for humans beyond Earth remain
ambitious. He said plans include the moon, asteroids, and Mars. The
question is not if, but how. "The International Space Station is
the centerpiece of our human space flight for the coming decade.
Every research investigation and all of the systems that keep the
ISS operational help us figure out how to explore farther from our
planet and improve life here. I made a decision to base the new
multi-purpose crew vehicle, or MPCV – our deep space crew
module -- on the original work we've done on the Orion capsule.
We're nearing a decision on the heavy lift rocket, the Space Launch
System, or SLS, and will announce that soon."
Bolden stressed that partners in the Commercial Orbital
Transportation Service program, SpaceX and Orbital, continue to
meet milestones. "In addition to this space flight progress, we
have a huge number of amazing science missions coming up. We'll
advance aeronautics research to create a safer, more
environmentally friendly and efficient air travel network. NASA is
moving the ball down the field, because the status quo is no longer
what we need. President Obama has outlined an urgent national need
to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build our competitors and
create new capabilities that will take us farther into the solar
system and help us learn even more about our place in it. NASA is
ready for this grand challenge."