Former astronaut Frederick Gregory talks about diversifying the astronaut corps and the tough choices in NASA’s budget
NASA made the “correct decision” to cut science programs for kids and boost spending on exploration, says a former astronaut and the agency's second in command who says historic new achievements in sending humans to deep space will do just as much or more to inspire a new generation.
The fiscal 2021 budget would eliminate the $120 million that NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, which provides a range of educational opportunities from informal programs at museums to grants at colleges, received in fiscal 2020. But it would boost the exploration budget by 46 percent to send humans back to the moon by 2024 -- as a stepping stone for a mission to Mars.
He also spoke about his take on NASA's moon plans and how to increase diversity in the astronaut corps.This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.I think the nation should do things they thought were impossible yesterday. If we have done it once before, it would be a side trip for me, not the principal motivator.I’d hate to be characterized like that. NASA is a research and development organization.
I had this great interest in airplanes at a very early age. … I decided I wanted to go to this school they were building in Colorado, the Air Force Academy.[for the astronaut program.] I had a couple people who influenced me to apply. … The folks who were friends with my parents, the pilots, it turns out they were all Tuskegee Airmen. One of them called me and said you need to apply for that program for yourself and for the Tuskegee Airmen.
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