COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A top NASA official said President Obama will announce plans to continue development of a stripped-down version of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle for use as a crew lifeboat on the International Space Station.
Obama, who is scheduled to deliver a space policy speech at NASA’s Kennedy Space Station in Florida April 15, will also unveil plans to initiate development of a heavy-lift launch vehicle by 2015, NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver told reporters
following remarks at the 26th National Space Symposium here April 13.
Orion — part of NASA’s five-year-old Constellation program designed to replace the retiring space shuttle with new rockets and spacecraft optimized for the moon — was targeted for termination in Obama’s 2011 budget request.