NASA Glenn to get new assignments, money in wake of Constellation cancellation, Sen. Brown says
The Plain Dealer – President Barack Obama's decision to scuttle plans to return astronauts to the moon will impact Cleveland's NASA Glenn Research Center, but the losses will be more than offset by an expansion of Glenn's roles in other aerospace work, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown said Thursday.
Multiple news outlets have reported that the president intends to scrap NASA's Constellation exploration program, which is building new rockets and spacecraft for moon and Mars missions. The Glenn center has a significant share of Constellation work, which has pumped an average of $93 million per year into the Cleveland facility's budget.
Brown said a senior NASA official he would not name assured him that the president's budget, which will be released Monday, will contain good news for the Cleveland center and its more than 3,400 employees and contractors.
"We don't have precise numbers, but a generally good idea that the appropriation to Glenn will more than compensate for the loss of Constellation," Brown told The Plain Dealer.
"I'm confident there will be a significant increase in budget and jobs for NASA Glenn," Brown said. "It is a gain. I can't say for sure that all the same job skills of people working in Constellation will translate to the new jobs. But without equivocation, NASA Glenn's budget is going to be better for Cleveland."
