William Atkins
Sunday, 16 November 2008 22:43
Science -
Space
Page 3 of 5
The NASA chief said he had four conditions that must be met if he were to stay on as NASA administrator.
The first three are:
1. The International Space Station must be finished.
2. The space shuttle fleet must be retired.
3. NASA must return to the Moon, establish a lunar base, and continue to explore near-Earth asteroids and the planet Mars.
Griffin states,
"Two successive Congresses -- one Republican and one Democrat -- have strongly endorsed the path NASA is on. I think it's the right path.” [Reuters]
He added,
"For 35 years since the Nixon administration we've been on the wrong path. It took the loss of (space shuttle) Columbia and (the accident investigation) report to highlight the strategic issues to get us on the right path.” [Reuters]
Griffin strongly stated,
"We're there. I personally will not be party to taking us off that path. Someone else may wish to, but I do not." [Reuters]
He also stated that NASA cannot accomplish these three goals, which he outlined above, with less money than is currently allotted to the U.S. space agency.
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