Lawmakers: Funding Shortfall May Lead to Mothballed Space Shuttle

The space shuttle Atlantis rolls into NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1, where processing will begin for mission STS-115, the 19th flight to the International Space Station. CREDIT: NASA/KSC.

Several lawmakers have warned President Bush in a letter that if NASA doesn't get the budget it seeks for 2007 to 2010, it would have to retire shuttle Atlantis immediately, cutting jobs and gutting the vision for space exploration.

The Office of Management and Budget's plan would "under-fund the Shuttle program by $3 billion to $6 billion," a Dec. 9 letter says, leading to "the immediate retirement of the Shuttle Atlantis and a cut from the needed 19 Shuttle missions to between 8 and 11 missions."

John Logsdon, director of George Washington University's Space Policy Institute, said a proposal to go to two orbiters has little support.

"It would mean that NASA couldn't honor its international commitments," he said, "and the policy people at the White House have said that's not acceptable."

If NASA got a smaller budget increase than requested and Atlantis were retired, jobs at Kennedy Space Center would be eliminated.

"Retiring Atlantis will only save money if you reduce the work force," said Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Indialantic, who also signed the letter. More than 14,000 people work at the space center.

"We just wanted to put them on notice that if they were going to pursue a budget strategy along those lines," Weldon said, "they were going to get into a big fight with a bunch of us."

NASA would not be able to fix the Hubble Space Telescope or finish the International Space Station, which "will gravely upset our international partners," the lawmakers' letter said.

It went so far to say the other countries could ally themselves with China's space program, which also is aiming for moon landings.

"That's scare-mongering," said Logsdon, who served on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board.

No details

Scott Milburn, with the Office of Management and Budget, wouldn't reveal details of the 2007 budget, which comes out in February. Until now, he said, President Bush has increased NASA funding by 15 percent.

Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Oviedo, also signed the letter. He and other lawmakers have spoken with budget office chief Joshua Bolten about the issue.

"OMB lacks the detailed knowledge of the ramifications when they make a proposal like this," Feeney said.

Flying the shuttles 19 more times before their planned 2010 retirement is likely to cost at least $22 billion, which lawmakers say is $3 billion to $6 billion more than what's currently allotted.

The NASA budget makes up less than 1 percent of the national budget, but "there's lots of claimants and not enough money, particularly post-Katrina and with the war," Logsdon said.

Budget crunch

Feeney acknowledged the budget crunch but said NASA wasn't like other programs.

"Underfunding the shuttle is like building half a bridge," he said.

In this case, the bridge is the space station.

The economic impact would be felt closer to home, where recruiting and training new workers for the shuttles' successor could be more expensive than retaining current ones, Feeney said.

"It will destroy the work force at places like Kennedy Space Center and Johnson and elsewhere," he said.

Normal politics

Logsdon said the letter amounted to normal budget politics as negotiations progress. Though the science budget is likely to remain static under NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, he said, shuttles and the future crew exploration vehicle remain the priority, making retiring Atlantis unlikely as a compromise is reached.

"It would be an unfortunate decision," he said, "and I think the people who are making that decision know it."

Florida Today staff writers Todd Halvorson and John Kelly contributed to this article

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