Congress inserts Constellation program clause in NASA FY2010 funding bill

  Under the 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act, H.R. 3288, Congress inserted a clause in the language of the FY2010 NASA funding bill that would prevent President Obama from terminating the Constellation program without Congressional approval.  Senator Bill Nelson of Florida was the main sponsor of the clause in the Senate version.
  The Constellation Project is NASA's new human exploration program that is building and developing the Ares I and Ares V launchers along with Orion, crewed spacecraft, and Altair, the moon lander.  The program established and funded by Congress in toward the end of 2005 has been beset by funding shortfalls and the resultant technical problems.