Lawmakers try to prevent Obama from cutting NASA, Orlando Sentinel

"Congress and the White House have signaled that they envision sharply different futures for NASA and its manned space mission. At an aerospace luncheon, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said President Barack Obama wants the agency to embrace "more international cooperation" after the space-shuttle era ends in 2010 and hinted that its Constellation moon-rocket program could see major changes. "We are going to be fighting and fussing over the coming year," Bolden told an audience of aerospace executives and lobbyists Wednesday. "Some of you are not going to like me, because we are not going to do the same kind of things we've always done." But hours earlier, congressional appropriators reached a different conclusion, approving legislative language declaring that any change to Constellation, which aims to return astronauts to the moon by 2020 but is running well behind schedule, must first get the approval of Congress."

Keith's note: Charlie Bolden cancelled a speech that he was supposed to deliver in San Diego today at the last minuute to stay in Washington. All NASA field center directors meet early next week with Bolden. Something is up.

According to a Twitter post by Erika Wagner who attended an appearance by Norm Augustine at MIT last night "Augustine: "I'm told that some of the decision documents are on [Obama's] desk right now"