Some shuttle workers had hoped to get jobs developing a rocket and capsule to take astronauts back to the Moon by 2020.
VOA: standard.2010.03.18
The Obama Administration has canceled plans it inherited to send astronauts back to the Moon, the Space Shuttle is about to retire, and the only near-term human space flight initiative on the books is a handout to rich California businessmen to update old technology.
In 2004, President George W Bush instigated ambitious plans to return astronauts to the Moon by 2020, necessitating the replacement of the shuttle by a new space vehicle.