New Law Proposed to Keep the Shuttles Flying

In his budget proposal for 2011, US President Barack Obama has proposed that the course of NASA be changed. The document argues that the burden of delivering astronauts to low-Earth orbit, such as, for example, to the International Space Station (ISS) should be passed down to private companies. At the same time, Obama calls for canceling Project Constellation, the American space agency's back-up plan for manned spaceflight, as well as for the retirement of the space shuttle fleet. These proposals have upset many in Washington, and opposition to the new approach is stiff.

Over the past few weeks, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and the White House Science Advisor John P. Holdren have come under large amounts of criticism from Congress and various committees, which need to agree with the proposed budget before it is passed. They were criticized for their lack of vision and for endangering the American domination in space. Officials also said that they would fight through whichever method possible to stop the new approach to space exploration from being implemented. Leading the way in the opposing effort are senators and representatives from the states that house the NASA facilities which stand most to lose when the shuttle program is ended.

On March 3, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, introduced a bill that called for an extension to the shuttle program for at least a few flights. The goal was to maintain jobs until a backup plan could be devised, and also to ensure that the US will not depend on Russian capsules for access to space. Now, Reps. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach, and Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, introduce a new bill, which resembles Hutchison's. They believe that the country should relay on governmental vehicles such as the shuttle and a new heavy-lift rocket, and argue that the state should be more involved in designing the replacement vehicle for the space shuttle.

“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 explained Wednesday, when the new legislation was introduced. The document calls for scheduling two shuttle flights per year until a replacement for the spacecrafts would be devised. “We need a plan to close the space gap that actually maintains America's ability to send American astronauts into space,” Posey added, quoted by Space.