BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Critics say NASA is trying to end the Constellation program before Congress gives the OK. President Obama says he wants the $9 billion project to end, but Congress still has to approve that.
Some members of Congress are fighting to keep it going. NASA's administrator has already asked contractors to cut Constellation spending immediately.
The fight over the Constellation project and the Ares rocket has taken an unusual turn. The project was only funded through the end of the year and, under the President's direction, NASA's administrator was calling for an end to this particular moon rocket design.
But with a battle looming in Congress over whether the program should be continued, NASA's administrator has sent a letter to contractors ordering them to immediately cut spending on the project.
While Congress has specifically prohibited cutting the Constellation program short, NASA's administrator, Charles Bolden, has cited a law called the Anti-Deficiency Act, which says contractors have to set aside a portion of their budgets in case the project is cancelled.
That money would be used to wrap up and terminate the projects and, in the case of the Ares rocket, NASA estimates it will cost nearly $1 billion to do that. That's $1 billion more than the Constellation program has left in its budget.
Some critics have charged that it's a means of ensuring the demise of the Ares rocket and Constellation program before Congress has a chance to vote on it, but others have questioned whether Bolden's demands would stand up in court since federal courts have ruled similar contracts were unenforceable.
NASA's administrator estimated the immediate cutbacks in the Constellation program will lead to between $2,500 and $5,000 job losses across the country. There are no specific numbers for how many people at the Kennedy Space Center will be affected by it.
WFTV
