HOUSTON — NASA's sprawling Johnson Space Center has always stood as a symbol of triumph and human innovation.
Yet, 40 years after Apollo 11 — and decades after American entered a new era in human spaceflight — it’s hard to grasp the change that may be on the horizon.
"I think it’s a bit of a surprise and a shock," said Jessica Tramaglini of United Space Alliance.
Tramaglini grew up dreaming about working for NASA; at age 22, she’s training to work at Mission Control.
"This is what I came here for. And what I find interesting. And what I love to do," she said.
Her future in Houston now hinges on what happens in Washington. President Obama earlier this month laid out what critics called an uninspired vision for the space agency.
Critics say NASA’s proposed 2011 budget takes more than it gives.
The space program would get an additional $6 billion in funding over the next five years — but it loses the ambitious Constellation project — and America’s planned return to the moon.
Houston stands to lose big. Economists estimate as many as 7,000 jobs could be lost as the space shuttle program is phased out this year and the Constellation program winds down.
There were plans to shift shuttle workers to Constellation; that might happen now.
And none of this counts the indirect jobs that depend on the Johnson Space Center — jobs at local restaurants, banks and other nearby businesses.
If you count all those, one estimate has another 4,000 people around Houston at risk of losing their jobs.
"We do not want those individuals to move off to other states, or other areas of the country, and leave us. I mean, it’ll be like a vacuum," Bob Mitchell of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership said.
"We have three large programs [and] we're going to go down to one in about a six-month span," said Mike Coats, director of the Johnson Space Center. "It's a big impact here so we're very anxious to figure out the path forward if you will."
Coats said he planned to keep the space agency's core competancies in Houston -- human spaceflight, space operations and astronaut training.
"[Those] are the things that Johnson Space Center is known for," he said. "I think we do what nobody else does."
"If I can't give him some programs that he's going to build the workforce around he's going to lose a lot of talent," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told 11 News. "I don't want to put him in that position."
The shift away from Constellation is significant.
NASA intends to find new ways to send Americans to space, and it hopes to have a way to do that within five years.
Without the space shuttle, NASA plans to rely heavily on private enterprise.
"The President has said, ‘This is the direction that I want you to take. I want you to facilitate the success of commercial access to low-Earth orbit.’ And that’s what we’re trying to do," Bolden said.
No one is sure how many jobs that kind of shift would bring.
The government recently gave five aerospace companies $50 million to work on returning Americans to space.
A sizable share of that went to Houston, where The Boeing Company is developing a next-generation space capsule.
"It’s sort of cool to say, wow, I’m doing something that may make a difference," said Keith Reiley of The Boeing Company.
NASA’s proposed 2011 budget has become a tough sell on Capitol Hill and across the country.
A recent forum at the Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake near the Johnson Space Center became part pep rally, part message to Washington that 30,000 jobs nationwide were on the line.
"People are concerned," said U.S. Representative Pete Olson, R-Houston. "People support NASA, and they want us to be the leader in human spaceflight."
Critics say it’s almost impossible to measure the implications of such a radical shift. Their more immediate focus is saving NASA’s workforce — including the jobs of future flight controllers like Jessica Trmaglini.
"I do remember watching launches on TV and being awestruck," Tramaglini said. "There’s many of us who, we have this passion, so we’re going to do whatever we can."
