“NASA is burning taxpayer money”

To fulfill America's space ambitions, the country needs to change its financial and organizational approach to the space program, says Berin Szoka, director of the Center for Internet Freedom.

“The real key in the long term is not a government program, it is not government’s rockets, not the government running the system, but having the government buy rides,” he told RT.

“It is not such good news for states which have a lot of jobs at stake. And that is really what this fight has been about. That’s why you’ve seen this bizarre situation where the Obama administration has been more fiscally responsible and more encouraging of free markets and the private sector and entrepreneurship than anyone. NASA has basically been flying around in low Earth orbit in circles since the 1960s. And so really what we are talking about today is getting NASA out of that role where it is just burning taxpayer money doing nothing.”

America’s shuttle fleet is soon heading for the scrapyard, but the US is now working on a new project. During his visit to the Kennedy launch pad to back NASA, President Obama said he expects American astronauts on Mars in his lifetime.