Q&A with Charles F. Bolden NASA Administrator

EDITOR'S NOTE: In between his many public appearances in South Carolina Tuesday, NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden talked briefly with reporter Robert Behre about the future of his agency.

Q: The recent elections showed voters' concern about the level of government spending and debt. How will that affect NASA's work?

A: "That's hard to say. I'll be able to answer that question for you better in the middle of February, when we get our budget. It would be premature for me to try to guess. It may be that the Congress decides that they really think exploration is really important ... and we'll find the level of funding is OK."

Q: The Space Shuttle fleet is expected to fly its last mission this year. What will replace it?

A: "We actually have vehicles that already are in preparation, and one of them has flown. Falcon 9, with the Dragon capsule, flew back in early December. ... It was an absolutely incredible accomplishment. It represents the first of what we hope will be a number of commercially produced vehicles that NASA will use to get cargo and crew to lower Earth orbit, particularly to the International Space Station."

Q: Does the growing space tourism sector help or hurt NASA?

A: "Space tourism sector helps everybody. It helps the nation, mainly because it helps to grow the need for people with STEM-related backgrounds (science, technology, engineering, and math) -- people who will build those rockets and operate them. Besides, we hope it will infuse money into the economy. That remains to be seen."

Q: What is the most misunderstood aspect of NASA's work?

A: "Without a doubt, I think the most misunderstood aspect of what we do is what we do. Most people think only of human space flight -- shuttles and rockets and stuff. The vast majority of what we do is in the fields of science and aeronautics. ... If you look at things like the Hubble Space Telescope, the Solar Dynamics Observatory -- a number of science missions that have really rewritten the textbooks. That's probably our most misunderstood thing, what the other 'A' and what the 'S' in NASA stand for."