Obama Shifts Gears, Endorses $2B NASA Funding Boost

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s position on space exploration continued to evolve Sunday as the Illinois Democrat endorsed a congressional plan to add $2 billion to NASA’s budget and agreed to back at least one more space shuttle mission. In a policy paper released Sunday, the presumptive Democratic nominee said his goal was to “minimize the gap” between the end of the shuttle program and the beginning of future manned missions. He also hopes “to ensure retention of” thousands of NASA workers in Texas and Florida whose jobs are threatened.