Wow. Things have been weird around work.

The President released a proposed budget for NASA. News roundup here.

It wasn't unexpected that we might abandon Ares 1 in favor of commercial spaceflight. It may be a bit technologically premature, but its not a bad idea. It wasn't unexpected that research and robotic missions would get a boost, they took their own bloodbath during the Bush administration. It wasn't unexpected that the Space Station be continued until 2020, we put all that effort until building it.

What was unexpected was the wholesale cancellation of the Constellation program, which included the development of a promising Orion capsule and a return to the moon and beyond... to replace it with... nothing. I mean nothing. No manned spaceflight done by NASA for the foreseeable future (besides the Space Station).

WTF?

Interestingly the NASA budget remains untouched. Devoted to "innovation." May I ask why you would bother to innovate without a mission, a timeline, a destination, a plan of some sort in mind? Just for the sake of it? Yeah, not cool.

Things are not good around the Manned Spaceflight Center. Everyone is expecting a bloodbath of contractor jobs. Those of us remaining are worried that we might have no meaningful work to do.

Its hard not to be doom and gloom.