NASA Marshall to Lead Heavy-Lift Booster

NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver said Friday that she believes the Washington stalemate over NASA's future is over, and Marshall Space Flight Center will lead development of NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, in an interview with The Hunstville Times.

What NASA wants now is "robust" work on a new heavy-lift rocket starting next year, Garver said. If Congress agrees with that priority, Marshall will lead the program.

Garver showed a detailed knowledge of the spending plans making their ways through the Senate and House. The Senate version accelerates heavy-lift rocket work to next year and sends more money to the commercial sector than the House version, would preserve more of the current Constellation program.