NASA chief sees new jobs, products for industry

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) - NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said on Tuesday that the Obama administration's new strategy to pursue technologies for space exploration would spawn new products, industries and jobs.

Speaking to an audience at the National Space Symposium conference in Colorado Springs, Bolden said the plans for NASA called for humans to take part in near-Earth missions and explore deep space before eventually going to the moon and Mars.

"Safely sending humans into deep space for years at a time and exploring destinations across the solar system is not something to be done overnight or to be taken lightly," Bolden said.

One of the few agencies to get a budgetary increase, NASA's budget is due to increase by $6 billion (3.9 billion pounds) over the next five years. It would fund research and technology development for manned missions in the solar system.

President Barack Obama's cancellation of the Constellation program, begun under former President George W. Bush to return humans to the moon, has raised concerns among lawmakers and others. The Constellation program was run by Lockheed Martin, Boeing Co and Alliant Techsystems Inc.

The head of Lockheed's space systems business told Reuters this week that she feared "substantial" job dislocation could result should Congress back the administration's plan to kill the Orion spacecraft program her company runs as part of Constellation.

Prior to getting to Mars, Bolden said the focus would be on developing capabilities such as propulsion systems to enable faster transport, habitats in deep space and perhaps fuel depots in space.

Bolden said NASA would take a phased approach to contracting with industry to develop transportation to low earth orbit.

"This shift will also create new research products, businesses, industries and a host of technology and space oriented jobs across our nation and the world," Bolden said.

President Obama is due to visit the Kennedy Space Centre on Thursday to set forth his vision for the U.S. space program.

(Reporting by Karen Jacobs; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)