On April 15, U.S. President Barack Obama...
the development of new rockets and a new crew capsule, the price per astronaut would have come out to $300 million. So Obama is saving taxpayers almost $250 million on each astronaut it sends into space.This shift in U.S. space policy toward unmanned spacecrafts and robot-based exploration follows a 20-year debate both in the U.S. and Russian space communities. Which is more economical, safer and more efficient - sending humans into space or relying on robots and unmanned probes? The latter is much cheaper, while the former is more expensive and dangerous.
But the reality is you need both. The optimal combination of man and machine should be the goal here. It appears that Obama and his top space advisors have decided to reduce the role played by astronauts. However at the current stage it would be impossible to scrap manned missions altogether.
Obama"s space program will spark more debate between these opposing camps in the space community, and not just
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