BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — NASA is pushing back some promised upgrades that could create more jobs in order to keep shuttles flying. President Obama promised money to transform the Kennedy Space Center and keep workers employed there, but according to Obama's budget released Monday there were key NASA programs slashed so that the shuttle program can fly three more missions.
Go To: NASA Budget Overview
Chzan Whitehead firmly believes what happens at the Space Center affects just about everyone living around it.
"People, in my opinion, are very afraid of what's going on out there," Whitehead said. "Trickle down effect, definitely."
So he, like many others, wasn't exactly thrilled to hear about NASA's new budget. Compared to funding levels previously approved by Congress, NASA is essentially proposing big cuts to key programs.
The new heavy lift vehicle, the Orion capsule, and plans to upgrade infrastructure at the Kennedy Space Center could have funding levels slashed. The President personally pledged to fund the upgrades when he visited the Space Center two years ago. Funding for that alone was cut from $500 million to $130 million.
NASA's administrator, Charlie Bolden, said the new budget was in line with trying to reduce the national deficit.
"The budgets for everything had to come down and NASA is no different," Bolden said. "We're going to modernize the Kennedy Space Center, creating jobs as we upgrade launch facilities."
Bolden said the budget to upgrade facilities at NASA was cut drastically in part because the space agency had to find money to continue operating the space shuttle program, which was originally supposed to end last October.
The space station and seed money for commercial rocket programs both got increases. This is still just a proposal and some House Republicans have called for $379 million to NASA's budget.