NASA chief: Shuttle's end won't stop U.S. space work | Top Story | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

WASHINGTON
— Human spaceflight and deep-space exploration will be the hallmarks of
NASA's future, the top administrator for the agency pledged Friday,
saying America's dominance in space will continue despite the end of the
shuttle program next week.

A group of former
astronauts and other critics have blasted the agency and the Obama
administration for ending the 30-year-old shuttle program, once the
cornerstone of NASA. But NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told a
National Press Club luncheon that the agency is merely starting a new
chapter of space exploration - not abandoning human space flight.