CAPE CANAVERAL, FL: Today President Obama laid out his vision for future space exploration after cutting NASA’s mission to the moon. NASA had discontinued further deployment of the space shuttle to be able to afford their planned mission to the moon due to Congressional budget cuts, and now the moon program has been scrapped. The NIP has previously warned that the US is about to become a third world country in space.

Obama, being sensitive to criticism, scheduled his trip to Florida today to not only shore up support for his NASA cuts but to shine the spotlight away from thousands of Tea Party protests all over the country on this tax day. NASA is one of the many non-entitlement programs that Obama is cutting to finance his socialistic dream.

I interviewed Dick Gordon, command module pilot of Apollo 12 today after the President’s speech. When asked what he thought of the speech he answered, “Not much. The President was long on rhetoric but short on specifics. Wait until the Russians are the only game in town. Their $50 million fee to the space station will escalate.”

Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon was interviewed today by Neil Cavuto after the speech. Cernan stated, “I have concerns about the future of this country. I’m not on board with Obama’s transformation of America. The President’s vision is a vision to nowhere. Nothing has changed today after I heard the President. You can take parts of his glib presentation today and add them up and there is no defiinition, no detail, there’s no real destination, no focus.”

Cernan wrote an open letter to President Obama with Neil Armstrong and James Lovell that graphically warns us of the dire consequences of the decisions made by this administration: Read more…

Today's Discovery launch, photo courtesy NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL: Early this morning NASA launched the space shuttle Discovery, one of the last launches of our shuttle fleet. Only 3 shuttle missions remain this year before the retirement of the most successful takeoff and reentry vehicle in space history.

Considering that our entire communications infrastructure depends on satellites, our administration is taking an enormous risk. Discontinuing the shuttle program before a replacement vehicle has been put into service has severe repercussions:

• USA held hostage to Russians to enter space
• International Space Station is turned over to Russians
• No emergency repairs to communications satellites
• No more repairs to Hubble Telescope
• No entry into space to counter potential Chinese offensives
• No defensive military use of space shuttles
• Our entire communications grid is at risk
• NASA will experience a “brain drain” as engineers leave the program

The “International” Space Station was built almost entirely with US funds. Now it is hands of the Russians. Private space exploration is far from being able to take over for NASA. Virgin’s new commercial space flight has nowhere near the power necessary to project a spacecraft into orbit. Only massive boosters like the space shuttle’s can do that. Read more…