NASA Glenn will start with a budget of $639 million dollars, up $100 million from last years' initial funding, and reflective of the overall $18-point 7 billion NASA budget that the White House is supporting.
Glenn's Director is Woodrow Whitlow, Jr, who says the funding lets the local center advance all it's current missions.
WOODROW WHITLOW, JR.: "The budget allows us to continue contributions towards the development of AIRES I, AIRES 5, to conduct aeronautics research in all speed ranges as well as aviation safety, and support for technology to enable the study of the solar system and the universe and to support operations of the space shuttle and the international space station."
Each of those elements is crucial to future space exploration as NASA winds up the Shuttle program - which has just nine flights left in it's 30-year time line.
NASA Glenn had been rumored to be targeted for cuts in some programs.
With a more diverse workload, NASA Glenn will possibly add a few workers to its' current staff of 1600 federal and 1800 contractual employees, and will continue it's work toward re-inventing the campus, with a new central office, new receiving facility, reconfigured main gate area - and a wind farm at its Plum Brook station in NorthCentral Ohio. All were approved in the budget.
Rick Jackson, 90.3.
