Obama’s new NASA mission under threat

As NASA struggles to implement the final four space shuttle flights, and the termination of the Constellation program —the Orion crew exploration vehicle and its Ares rockets—that was scheduled to replace it, lawmakers with districts containing a large number of NASA contractors are trying to scuttle the plans.

US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) in the Senate, and representatives Suzanne Kosmas (D-New Smyrna Beach) and Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) have introduced bills that would extend the lifetime of the space shuttle fleet beyond 2010, and direct NASA to speed up work on Constellation’s heavy-lift vehicle.

“This bill is intended to maintain a robust human spaceflight program that will protect Space Coast jobs, enhance our national security and generate scientific and technological advances that boost our economy,” Kosmas said .

The bill proposes to

• Continue supplying the international space station (ISS) until a new US launch vehicle with similar capabilities can replace it.
• Instruct NASA to report to Congress on what resources and equipment are needed for ISS extension beyond 2015.
• Accelerate research and development of a government-owned human space flight capability for launch as close to 2015 as possible.
• Provide for the near-term evaluation of heavy-lift rocket vehicle design options, including Shuttle-derived and Constellation-derived options
• Increase NASA funding for human spaceflight programs including an extra $1.3 billion for 2011 and $2 billion for 2012 for space shuttle launches of 2 per year

We need a plan to close the space gap that actually maintains America’s ability to send American Astronauts into space,” said Posey. The “Shuttle extension is the only way to close the gap in the near-term and with certainty.”

The Augustine commission that looked into the status of the Constellation program stated that the program was over budget and several years behind schedule, leaving to a large gap between 2011 and 2018 in which the US would have limited launch capability. Getting the program back on schedule would cost billions of dollars that NASA is unlikely to get said the report’s authors. Relying on the commercial sector would be a much cheaper option said NASA administrator Charles Bolden, Jr in a congressional hearing last month .

Moreover, despite some assurances that the shuttle fleet could be extended into additional years if NASA was ordered to do so, there is the risk of safety—NASA has lost two shuttles and crew to accidents—and the loss of experienced personnel that maintain the fleet.

Obama has scheduled a space summit in Florida on 15 April to discuss his plans to revamp NASA.

Paul Guinnessy