TAMPA, Fla. - NASA has gone through a series of changes the past 10 years. President George W. Bush ordered the retirement of the space shuttle; President Obama followed it through, and cratered the Space Coast’s economy.
A nation that beat the Soviets to the moon had to depend on the Russians to taxi astronauts into low-earth orbit. But President Obama led the transition to the next leap, partnering with private industry to focus on low-earth orbit while NASA set its sights for deep space exploration.