Rand Simberg
2010-08-22 17:53:05
So the 2011 budget did not cut funding for the Ares V? Did Obama try to cut funding for the Ares V?
There was never any funding for Ares V in any near-term budget to cut. Funding was cut for Ares I, because Constellation as a whole was cancelled, because as the Augustine panel pointed out, it was unaffordable with any realistic NASA budget. And Ares V is not necessary for space exploration. If we really need heavy lift (we don’t at least for now), there are many more cost-effective ways of getting it. NASA’s new plan called for some sort of heavy-lift development to start no later than 2015. And by then it will be quite clear that it is unnecessary for exploration.
