President Obama Pledges Total Commitment to NASA

President Obama says his new budget request to increase NASA's funding by $6 billion over the next five years is an investment in America's future, and a challenge to the agency to build on its legacy of innovation and discovery.

"What we're looking for is not just to continue on the same path", said the President. "We want to leap into the future. We want major breakthroughs, transformative for NASA."

Making his remarks to an audience of several hundred at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida prior to the start of a one-day "Conference on the American Space Program" for the 21st Century", President Obama reassured those in attendance about his support for NASA.

"The bottom line is, nobody is more committed to manned spaceflight, the human exploration of space, than I am. But we cant do it the same old way, but in the smart way to get where we want to go."

The space conference of senior officials, space and industry leaders, academic experts and others focuses the different aspects of the President's new direction for the agency. President Obama was introduced by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. (Details at: www.nasa.gov)

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