The US Government has allotted $19bn to Nasa in the 2011 budget and called for the end of the Constellation programme that aims to send man to the moon again in 2020.

According the government, the Constellation programme, including the development of the Orion spacecraft, is over the budget and behind schedule.

The new budget instead suggests a $6bn spend over five years to develop a commercial spacecraft to place astronauts into low Earth orbit. It also extends the International Space Station (ISS) programme to 2020.

A commercial spacecraft would mean one built and designed by private companies with Nasa guidance, according to the Washington Post.

The Nasa budget request also looks to develop robotic solar exploration missions and enhance the US global climate change research and monitoring system.