Predictions say NASA funding is unlikely to rise under either a Democratic or Republican president. However, NASA's priorities under Obama or Romney might be different. <\/p>\n
The outcome of today's (Nov. 6) presidential election is unlikely to have a profound impact on the future direction of American spaceflight and exploration, experts say. <\/p>\n
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While Republican candidate Mitt Romney has revealed few details about hisspace plans, a Romney Administration probably wouldn't dramatically alter the path NASA is currently pursuing under President Barack Obama, according to some observers. <\/p>\n
\"There are unlikely, as a result of the election, to be seismic changes,\" said space policy expert John Logsdon, a professor emeritus at George Washington University. <\/p>\n
In 2010, President Obama directed NASA to work toward getting astronauts to a near-Earth asteroid by 2025, then on to the vicinity of Mars by the mid-2030s. [Gallery: President Obama and NASA] <\/p>\n
To reach these deep-space destinations, the agency is developing a huge rocket called theSpace Launch Systemand a crew capsule called Orion. NASA hopes the SLS-Orion combo will begin launching astronauts by late 2021. <\/p>\n
The Obama Administration has also encouraged NASA to hand over crew and cargo activities in low-Earth orbit (LEO) to private American companies. The aim is to fill the void left by the 2011 retirement of thespace shuttle program, which was set in motion by President George W. Bush back in 2004. <\/p>\n
NASA has doled out a total of $1.4 billion in the past two years to firms developing crewed vehicles. The agency wants at least two crewed commercial spaceships to be up and running by 2017; until then, the United States will remain dependent on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to provide this orbital taxi service. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Will election results affect NASA funding?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Predictions say NASA funding is unlikely to rise under either a Democratic or Republican president. Continue reading