Bolden didn't provide any direct answers to whether the agency would continue to send humans into space in the coming decade, as recommended by a report from a blue-ribbon panel last October. However, Bolden promised that the program would not be paid for through cuts to the agency's science budget, which has been cannibalized in recent years to support space flights. The auditorium erupted in applause. Bolden avoided getting into any specifics on the next generation of NASA manned spacecraft, a topic of hot debate.