NASA Cut

More money for bailouts, more money for wars...no money for research and development.

Obama's NASA Policy: The White House VS Neil Armstrong

It's not easy to go up against a living legend, but that's what President Obama will be doing Thursday when he gives a speech on new NASA policies that are being blasted by Neil Armstrong.

Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, criticized Obama's plans to scrap NASA's return-to-the-moon program and other projects.

"Without the skill and experience that actual spacecraft operation provides, the USA is far too likely to be on a long downhill slide to mediocrity," said a letter signed by Armstrong and two other famed ex-astronauts, James Lovell and Eugene Cernan.

Obama travels tomorrow to Cape Canaveral, Fla., to speak at NASA headquarters.

Spokesman Robert Gibbs said an independent commission found some NASA programs to be "years behind schedule, (and) massively over-budget." Gibbs added that "the timetable prescribed was un-executable."

Instead, the president will outline a renewed strategy that "will provide more jobs for the area, greater investment in innovation, more astronaut time in space, more rockets launching sooner, and a more ambitious and sustainable space program for America's future," Gibbs said.

The press secretary also noted that Obama's plans have a high-profile supporter: Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon.