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Overview

The new administration presents NASA with a unique opportunity. Instead of trying to close the gap in human spaceflight, and continuing to exhaust critical resources on the current Vision for Space Exploration, NASA should dedicate itself in the first term of the new administration to proving its relevance in the post-Cold War world while restructuring its human spaceflight objectives. We propose a new direction for NASA, a five-point plan that can be carried out with existing capabilities and realistic budgets:

1. Restructure the human space initiative and keep the space shuttle flying until 2015.
2. Deliver short - term (within four years) payoffs in energy and the environment, especially climate change.
3. Deliver longer - term payoffs (within four to eight years) for energy and the environment.
4. Ensure an ongoing and effective robotic space science program.
5. Implement a reinvigorated and effective aeronautical research program, with particular attention to low-carbon fuels and efficiency, to help ensure the future well-being of the nation’s aviation industry.

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