Human Spaceflight – Let’s Light the Candle!

President Barak Obama and now-NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden meet at the White House, May 23. 2009. Official White House photo by Pete Souza.

But just what kind of candle will U.S. astronauts be strapped onto in the post space shuttle era?

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden dropped into the White House  the other day – and met with the President Obama to talk about what is next for the space agency.

We are told the meeting went well – that no decision has been made – but it will come soon – and when it does the President himself will make the announcement.

If you are a tea leaf reader – that last little tidbit bodes well for those of us who want the US to stay in the manned space racket.

Would Obama stand before the the nation and give a speech which says in essence “We choose NOT to go to the moon…because it is too hard and too expensive”? Unlikely, I think. Just my two cents here.

The White House space confab comes four months after the Augustine Committee shared its thoughts on what the US should – and should not do in the in the after shuttle years.

No matter which course Team Obama chooses – it means giving NASA about 3 billion dollars more a year – or stop sending humans to space.

So the Space Nation waits for word – hoping for a puff of white smoke from the conclave.

Let’s begin with a word from one of the August members of the Augustine commission – former NASA astronaut, and our good friend Leroy Chiao.   Watch below, or read the transcript of our interview.