By leading two new programs, NASA Glenn might attract more space-related businesses to the area, Ramon "Ray" Lugo says.
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Cleveland's NASA Glenn Research Center will get significant parts of two space projects in President Barack Obama's budget, even if the Constellation program is dropped.
Updated at 5:31 p.m.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- NASA Glenn Research Center would take greater control of its future and potentially attract more business under new tasks proposed by President Barack Obama, the center's acting director said Friday.
The center would take the lead on two programs projected to cost $2.1 billion over the next five years, Ramon "Ray" Lugo said at a news conference at the Brook Park campus.
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View full sizeRamon "Ray" Lugo, acting director of NASA Glenn Research Center
The new tasks "play on our strengths and reflect a level of confidence in NASA Glenn's ability to perform," said Lugo, who oversees a 3,400-person work force of civil servants and contractors.
On Thursday, top space agency officials announced Glenn's new programs -- focused on research and development of space-exploration technology -- during a teleconference detailing new tasks for the agency's 10 field centers.
The new duties emerged from Obama's controversial proposal to scrap Constellation, the back-to-the-moon mission, in which NASA Glenn has a vital role.
Instead, Obama wants the commercial sector to handle flights into low-Earth orbit, while pursuing deep-space exploration and the technological advances that come with it.
The president also wants the space agency to heighten its focus on climate change and next-generation aviation.
The plan faces opposition in Congress, especially from states whose NASA centers are doing Constellation work.
NASA Glenn would lose Constellation-related jobs but would see a net gain of several hundred under Obama's plan, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and top NASA officials said Thursday.
Lugo said Friday it was too early to discuss specific job numbers. But NASA Glenn could see a "modest increase" in jobs, he said.
"We'll be able to concentrate on delivering technology and products and focus less on staffing and funding levels," Lugo said of Glenn's future under the president's proposed budget.
Under the Constellation program, NASA Glenn is working on projects overseen by other centers. By leading its own, new programs, the Glenn center gets to "control and manage" significant amounts of money, which means greater stability, Lugo said.
"I believe this raises our profile in the agency," Lugo said
One of the initiatives NASA Glenn would lead is the Exploration Technology Development and Demonstration Program, projected to cost $1.8 billion over five years, to develop and test key technologies.
Lugo said the money likely means an increase in NASA Glenn's operating budget, which averages $600 million to $700 million yearly.
But he cautioned that much of the new exploration-development money would go to projects outside the Cleveland area, or to other centers with expertise that Glenn doesn't have.
Likewise, new programs at other NASA centers would send projects and money to Glenn, whose strengths include space propulsion, space flight systems and aeronautics.
"We will be working more closely with other NASA centers," Lugo said.
As leader of the new exploration-development program, the Glenn center would probably attract companies involved in emerging space-travel technologies, potentially bringing more jobs to the area, Lugo said.
The loss of Constellation would impact the Glenn center's Plum Brook testing complex near Sandusky.
Lugo noted that NASA is upgrading facilities there, largely to test space components built under the Constellation program. The upgrade will cost $150 million-plus.
Companies that win space trip contracts could use the facility for "full-scale environmental testing," Lugo said. The site "is very well positioned to have a significant ongoing role," he said.