WITH 'COOLEST JOB EVER' ENDING, ASTRONAUTS SEEK NEXT FRONTIER:

Under President Obama, NASA’s human spaceflight program has been curtailed. The Ares I and Constellation programs, which were meant to succeed the space shuttles and take astronauts to the moon, were canceled, and NASA is instead hiring outside companies to devise alternatives.  The current situation may not dampen the career aspirations of the elementary school set, but last year alone, 20 astronauts left NASA’s active-duty roster; today, 61 remain, down from a peak of about 150 in 2000. Back then, NASA was gearing up to staff the International Space Station and the shuttles that supplied it.  I have been so out of the political loop, that I didn't even know that the space program was cancelled.  I still don't know why but it seems odd that one of the major programs in the U.S would be cancelled.