Now that the news has gone viral, there has predictably been alot of scrambling around here today.  Short back story is that there are still those that are optimistic about Constellation’s survival because it has some limited Congressional bi-partisan support that could resist any executive branch directed budgetary alterations to the program.  A few more thoughts, purely objective mind you, on the probable near-term future.

Politics is an annoying, yet predictable beast. The recent MA Senate seat election results has everyone in Congress that plans on staying there scrambling to demonstrate their fiscal responsibility. This relegates space to a regional issue in which Nelson, Shelby, et. al. can voice their support for the space program in order to win re-election in their districts, but they will find little to no support from Congress at-large whom are not going to exercise any political capital for anything seen as costing $$$ with a ten-foot pole- be it space or otherwise.

To me, the quote from the Obama advisor at the conclusion of the CBS article: “The budget, according to one administration official quoted, will tell Congress that NASA won’t be able to design programs just to create jobs in their districts. “That’s the view of the president,” the official said. “ is very telling. Politics has so become the game of back room discussions that exactly these types of media release statements say alot more than they let on. This quote was directly intended for the aforementioned Shelby-AL.

The fight may have just begun, but this quote indicates that the White House is prepared to battle Shelby and the other Congress members with regional NASA interests. They can (and probably will) paint them as supporting pork if they support the Program of Record, a position that they know is untennable with the American people.

I just simply don’t see a political avenue in which Constellation support continues.