Apollo Astronaut Rusty Schweickart Boosts New NASA Plan

Posted by Charlene Anderson

2010/05/19 04:51 CDT

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By Charlene M. Anderson

It's the hottest debate I've seen in 30 years of following space policy -- this uproar over NASA's proposed FY 2011 budget. Both sides see it as this generation's defining battle for the future of human spaceflight, and they're recruiting spokesmen from the Apollo generation to defend their positions.

"The first and last men on the Moon," Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan, have won the most media attention, first with an open letter criticizing the Administration's plan, then with testimony to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. The second man on the Moon, Buzz Aldrin, has been campaigning hard for the new plan, but he has yet to appear before Congress, where the fate of NASA will be decided.

Now Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart has entered the fray with a compelling letter to Bill Nelson, chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Science and Space, in strong defense of the new plan. Check out what Rusty has to say >>