Obama's Space Plans

Speaking to voters along Florida's Space Coast recently, Sen. Barack Obama pledged to build the spacecraft and launcher of the new Constellation program and seek to narrow the time gap between the last shuttle flight and the first Constellation flight, even if that might mean additional shuttle flights. He also said he wanted to use ISS "intelligently" and give NASA a mission that would once again "inspire" the world.

Obama, however, declined to commit himself to returning humans to the Moon, let alone going on to Mars, saying he intended a thorough study of what NASA should do in the future. Fair enough. Likely, a review of NASA's direction is in store no matter who wins the presidency. The Constellation hardware, however, is being designed to support deep space manned missions. If that hardware is built, logic-- economic and otherwise-- would seem to drive a decision to use it for what it was intended.