Look up, Indy 500 fans. The next great race may be in the clouds.

The residents of Florida have long been fearful that a new direction for NASA would result in massive unemployment on the Space Coast. But when President Obama spoke on April 15, 2010, he worked to address the fear that thousands of jobs would be lost—not only at NASA but also with the hundreds of small businesses supported by the NASA workforce.

Today, April 15, 2010, at the Kennedy Space Center, President Obama revealed his plans for the future of NASA's space program: he's putting NASA on a new course.

Energiya, the go-to manufacturer for the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos), is planning to build a six-person craft, which will have room for three space tourists.

New York City is home of the Empire State Building, the New York Yankees, Central Park, and the office of the Space Future Journal. And if Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressperson Jerrold Nadler have their way, New York will have a new bullet point on the list of local destinations: a space shuttle.

On March 25, 2010, at a private showing at New York City’s Core Club, Richard Garriott screened his documentary, Man on a Mission, about his experiences as a spaceflight participant.

Years ago actors Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland popularized a now-famous show business cliché: “Let’s fix up the old barn and put on a show!”

The first Teacher in Space program began in 1984, with teachers Christa McAuliffe and Barbara Morgan chosen from 11,000 applicants as the first to fly. Unfortunately for all concerned, McAuliffe lost her life with other six astronauts when the space shuttle Challenger blew up 74 seconds into its flight. NASA shelved the program, and for the next twenty years no teacher/educator has made it across the threshold of the next frontier until Barbara Morgan finally flew in 2007.

US President Obama’s budget containing some hopeful directions for the space program…we think. Nestled within the thousand-page document is an increase in NASA’s budget: US$18.7 billion for 2010, which is US$2.4 billion more than the total for 2008; the House of Representatives also passed a bill on February 25, 2009, increasing the budget by US$360 million to the human space exploration budget for 2009.

WhiteKnightTwo, the twin fuselage carrier for the sub-orbital vehicle SpaceShipTwo, took off for its maiden flight 21 December 2008 from the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, CA. WhiteKnightTwo, or “WK2,” flew for an hour.