U.S. faces more competition as countries boost space efforts

The superiority that the U.S. has in space is slipping away as more countries expand their commercial and civilian space capabilities. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin noted that the agency's budget is down by 20% when adjusted for inflation. "We spent many tens of billions of dollars during the Apollo era to purchase a commanding lead in space over all nations on Earth," he said. "We've been living off the fruit of that purchase for 40 years and have not . . . chosen to invest at a level that would preserve that commanding lead." Washington Post, The (7/9)