CNN Poll: Half of Americans Say End of Shuttle is Bad; Just Over Half Prefer Private Sector Replacement
A CNN poll conducted just before the STS-135 Atlantis mission ended, and with it the space shuttle program, found that half of those polled think that it is bad for the United States.
The poll was conducted July 18-20; STS-135 landed on July 21. Half said the end of the shuttle program was bad for the country, 16 percent said it was good for the country, and one-third said it would have no effect.
Three-quarters of those polled think the United States should build a new system to take astronauts into space, but only 38 percent think the government should build it. The private sector should handle spaceflights in the future according to 54 percent of those polled and nearly 90 percent believe that will happen.
The sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The decision to terminate the space shuttle program was made in 2004 by President George W. Bush, and upheld by President Obama when he took office in 2009. The shuttle program cost about $3 billion per year and both Administrations wanted to use the money for other NASA purposes.
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