Politics & Government

SPEAK OUT: What Should NASA Do Now?

NASA is looking to trade in shuttles for an Apollo-like space exploration vehicle with a $38 billion price tag.

With Discovery safely on the ground at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center and retired after 28-years, the question is: What will NASA do next?

According to NASA, they are designing and building a new space vehicle that will have the capabilities to send people into space to explore the solar system. The goal is to develop a vehicle that will one day land humans on Mars, according to NASA.

The new space exploration vehicle, “Orion,” will be able to carry astronauts into space for 21-day missions, according to NASA.

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The new space vehicle would cost about $38 billion and only fly twice within the next 10-years, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2011. The L.A. Times also reported the multi-billion dollar price tag would also pay for a new heavy-lift rocket and passenger capsule that would have the capability to send astronauts beyond the moon.

"This launch system will create good-paying American jobs, ensure continued U.S. leadership in space, and inspire millions around the world," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said on the space agency’s website.

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John Karas, vice president and general manager for Lockheed Martin’s Human Space Flight programs, told Fox News in March 2011 that Orion could see its first trip into space in 2016.

“Orion was designed from inception to fly multiple, deep-space missions. The spacecraft is an incredibly robust, technically advanced vehicle capable of safely transporting humans to asteroids, Lagrange Points and other deep space destinations that will put us on an affordable and sustainable path to Mars,” Karas told Fox News.

Tell us: Do you think NASA should pump this money into the space program? Speak out in the comments.


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