Senator Jeff Sessions, last week , said Senators whose states will lose private sector jobs related to new NASA's space plans would like an independent legal opinion on whether or not NASA can order the winding down of the Constellation program. Senator Sessions and others seem to think "this is clearly a violation of the congressional intent."

President Obama has instructed NASA to redirect its mission away from the moon and toward deep space exploration. Among other effects, cancellation of Constellation would leave travel to the ISS completely in the hands of the Russians and yet-to-be-developed commercial space ferries.

There have been a number of loud protests about job losses by members of Congress who represent NASA centers and contractors. For example, the Marshall Space Flight Center could lose roughly 850 contractor jobs. The total number of contractor jobs to be lost could be as high as 5,000.

Mr. Sessions further said: "A number of members feel strongly that America's leadership in space is being jeopardized by the president's budget for next year and the attempts this year to cancel contracts before the year is out."

Launchspace feels compelled to comment on this situation. Mr. Sessions is correct about a lack of leadership in space. But, it is not just the Administration that is not providing leadership.

Where is the Congressional leadership in space? This concern about jobs is understood, because everyone knows senators and congressmen need votes to stay in office. However, does Congress know what will happen when America becomes a has-been spacefaring nation?

The current in-fighting about a few thousand jobs lost will eventually lead to tens of thousands of jobs lost. Europe, China and India are overtaking U.S. technical capabilities in space at a rapid pace. Customers for space services are going elsewhere for launch vehicles and satellites. The U.S. space program is being dismantled while Congress is arguing about job losses.

Is NASA's space exploration program really a jobs program? We hope not. Let's get it right.