I certainly consider this bad news. I know there's a lot of people on here who poo-poo manned spaceflight as needlessly expensive and unnecessary. But let me say this, manned flight (both air and space) as inspiration is the number one reason that I'm an aerospace engineer today. I know I'm not alone in this. While moves like these make economic sense in the short term, I have no doubt that in the long term, they will rob this industry of talented and inspired people... in some ways, the lack of progress in aerospace in the last 30 years already has shown this to be true.<p>I'd rather the administration issue grand challenges in all fields (especially aerospace) in order to inspire us today and future generations. Having an inspired workforce is the most critical challenge and essential to continued success and growth in any field.<p>edited to add: In case it wasn't clear, my point is that there is no way I'd be an aerospace engineer today if the aerospace vehicles and missions in my youth were unmanned/robotic. Yes, robotics is "cool"... but it's not even in the same league as manned flight when it comes to inspiration for me.