Frankly, I had no idea NASA's budget was so modest.

"And then, Dr. Crawley said, get on with it. The space program’s $17 billion annual budget is small in comparison with other elements of the nation’s spending. But its payoff, he noted, can be big. If the new president seeks to stimulate the economy with “domestic high-technology jobs that provide stable and rewarding employment,” he said, “space would be a well-placed investment.”

"Leroy Chiao, a retired astronaut who flew three shuttle missions and served aboard the space station, said that the 2004 announcement by Mr. Bush of NASA’s new direction “was a time of great optimism.” Mr. Chiao is not involved with the Constellation project today, but he said it was clear from some of the leaked discussions that “the program has not panned out as I, and the vast majority of people, had hoped.”

Alas, like so many of the programs.

Arf