A key question is, as Congressman Boehlert has noted, if NASA should be a “single-mission agency” devoted only to “exploration.” Should it perform other missions too? Is the current NASA definition of “exploration” the proper one? (Or is it even a clear definition?)

Another question is how much the agency should be involved in aeronautics research. The federal government has _always_ played a major role in the development of American aviation. The modern airplane is not simply a product of private ingenuity from the Wright Brothers. Airfoils, high-lift devices, the supercritical wing, the angled wing, jet engines, high-bypass turbofan engines, modern avionics and flight controls, radar and hundreds of other important technological developments were funded by the federal government.

For the past 25 years or so there has been a simmering debate about how much the government should continue to fund aeronautical research. This is just an extension of that debate.

Hopefully NASA is finally gaining the testicular fortitude to do what should have been done long ago. Let us hope Congress can do the same.