WASHINGTON, April 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday outlined his administration's vision for America's future in space. The following are some key points of Obama's proposed new U.S. space program:
-- to increase NASA's budget by 6 billion dollars over five years;
-- to create more than 2,500 additional jobs in Florida's Kennedy Space Center area by 2012, as compared to the prior path;
-- to begin major work on building a new heavy-lift rocket sooner, with a commitment to decide in 2015 on the specific heavy- lift rocket that will take the United States deeper into space;
-- to initiate a vigorous new technology development and test program to increase the capabilities and reduce the cost of future exploration activities;
-- to launch a steady stream of precursor robotic exploration missions to scout locations and demonstrate technologies to increase the safety and capability of future human missions, while also providing scientific dividends;
-- to restructure Constellation and directs NASA to develop the Orion crew capsule effort in order to provide stand-by emergency escape capabilities for the Space Station;
-- to establish the technological foundation for future crew spacecraft needed for missions beyond low Earth orbit;
-- to increase the number of astronaut days in space by 3,500 over the next decade, extend the life of the International Space Station, likely beyond 2020, and enable the launching of astronauts on new vehicles from the Kennedy Space Center 1-2 years sooner;
-- to jump-start a new commercial space transportation industry to provide safe and efficient crew and cargo transportation to the Space Station;
-- to make strategic investments to develop critical knowledge, technologies, and capabilities to expand long-duration human exploration into deep space in a more efficient and safe manner.
