RUMOR: Obama to axe Ares and Constellation

Rumors are flying that in the President's budget, which will be presented to Congress on Monday, all the money for the Constellation rocket program -- and the Ares I and V rockets -- will be gone. NASA will still get a full budget and even a slight increase, but the money for the new rocket system will be axed. First and foremost, these are rumors. The sources are all anonymous, and all the media are quoting each other. However, given the number of sources and the media involved, it's probably fair to say these rumors have a good chance of being true. So what does this mean? To be honest, I'm not sure. It's a lot to think about, and I'm not an insider expert on NASA. Having said that, here are some thoughts. Consider these mumbling out loud, ruminations to ponder. If I'm wrong, please feel free to comment! [Continued after the jump.] 1) According to the rumors, NASA will drop Ares and look for a different heavy-lift vehicle. That means we aren't going back to the Moon any time soon. The Orlando Sentinel (linked above) says this: