NASA might be rethinking Constellation program, could spare Utah jobs

SALT LAKE CITY — Amid anger in Congress, NASA may be rethinking plans to cancel its Constellation program.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that it had viewed an internal memo by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden asking officials to map out "what a potential compromise might look like" with critics in Congress who are trying to save Constellation.

That proposed cancellation threatens 2,000 jobs at Alliant Techsystems in Utah and up to 30,000 jobs nationwide, many of those in politically powerful Texas and Florida. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, has said it would shutter ATK's Promontory operations in Utah for rocket manufacturing and testing.

The Constellation program included developing two new rockets, the Ares I and Ares V, and a new spaceship to return to the moon and work toward Mars. The Obama administration has proposed to cancel the program and outsource to private companies some space missions in the near future, with the savings to help fund potentially "game-changing" NASA research.

The new memo comes just days after Bolden heard numerous members of Congress — both Democrats and Republicans — criticize the proposal during budget hearings. Bishop was among them, saying it will put America's rocket scientists out of work, which threatens America's ability to make defense missiles while it also hurts the space program.

Bishop was quick Thursday to praise word that Bolden is at least rethinking plans to cancel Constellation.

"Today's news could be a significant step in the right direction for national defense and for those, in Utah and elsewhere, currently involved in the Constellation program and the Ares rockets," he said.

"I'd like to see this other plan in detail, but I appreciate that the administrator is at least reconsidering the president's current proposal," he said. "Turning back the entire (cancellation) proposal is the best option and the one I think Congress will and should still pursue."

Despite the memo asking officials to look for a possible compromise on Constellation, the Wall Street Journal reported that a NASA spokesman said the agency still is "fully committed to the president's budget," which proposed canceling Constellation, because it "sets the agency on a reinvigorated path of space exploration."

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