India, on the other hand, is stepping it up.
From CNN World: India plans manned space mission in 2016
New Delhi, India (CNN) -- Indian researchers have announced plans to send their astronauts to space in 2016.
The cost of the proposed mission is estimated at $4.8 billion, said S. Satish, spokesman for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
Studies have begun on the design of the crew capsules that will be used to put a pair of astronauts 300 kilometers aloft for seven days, he said. The project budget has been sent for federal approval, he added.
While the US is saddled with politicians launching ever larger and ever more intrusive government programs, India is taking steps to become a space faring nation.
The race to the stars will not go those driven to shakedown the banks. It will go to those that see man's place among the stars.
