And he cancelled the Constellation programme launched by his predecessor that envisaged putting astronauts on the Moon's surface by 2020.

In his federal budget request, Mr Obama described the project as "over budget, behind schedule, and lacking in innovation", adding that it was draining resources from other Nasa activities.

Under Mr Obama's budget plans, Nasa would get funding to encourage private companies to build, launch and operate their own spacecraft, which could be used to carry astronauts to the International Space Station.

I felt about as good as anybody would, sitting in a capsule on top of a rocket that were both built by the lowest bidder.