WASHINGTON (CN) - To help revive interest in manned space travel, and to maintain and expand aerospace employment, President Obama has established a task force on Space Industry Workforce and Economic Development. The task force will be backed by $40 million in interagency funds to promote development along the "Space Coast" of Florida.
The NASA administrator and the Secretary of Commerce will be the task force's co-chairs and it will include representatives from every agency in the Cabinet.
The task force and its money will be added to a $6 billion increase to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's budget over the next 5 years.
NASA's budget also includes $429 million next year and $1.9 billion over the next 5 years, to modernize the Kennedy Space Center and other nearby space launch facilities in Florida.
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