Committee Urges Multi-Destination Plan for NASA Human Space Flig

The Augustine Commission released their final report today, and while they didn't offer specific recommendations for NASA's human space flight program, they laid out five possible options, highlighting a flexible plan that allows for several destinations out of low Earth orbit. The report also encouraged commercial space ventures to handle trips to the International Space Station. "The different options speak for themselves," said head of the commission, Norman Augustine at a press briefing today following the release of the report. "We believe Mars is clear goal of the human spaceflight program, but for safety reason we ruled out going directly there. We've offered programs that are alternatives for building a heavy lift launch capability, as we believe that to be extremely important for the human space program, and we believe this is the time to create a commercial market to transport humans to Earth orbit."

But the strongest point the committee made is that NASA needs additional funds of $3 billion a year in order to accomplish much of anything.
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