Seeking details, like the rest of us

Last last week the Republican caucus of the House Science and Technology Committee released its views on relevant portions of the president’s FY10 budget, including a few paragraphs on NASA’s budget. The members are, by and large, pleased with the budget, with one caveat: a lack of details on what the administration’s plans really are. “For example,” they write, “it is unclear whether the ‘new space flight systems for carrying American crews and supplies to space’ is the Constellation System already under development.” They add that they are concerned with the flat funding profile for the agency after 2010 that, they believe, could jeopardize NASA’s ability to continue development of Constellation (if, in fact, that is the program mentioned in the budget) while maintaining its other missions.