TOKYO (AP) -- NASA chief Sean O'Keefe said Thursday he remains committed to building and expanding the International Space Station despite Washington's decision last year to cut the project budget.
As early as 2006, O'Keefe said, the crew likely will be increased beyond the current three-astronaut level.
The NASA leader was in Japan for a meeting Friday with officials from the other nations helping to pay for the space station project -- Russia, the European Union, Canada and Japan.
Cost overruns have trimmed NASA's original plans for the station. For the time being, the crew is limited to three and some scientific research has been shelved.
Crew size was restricted, in part, by NASA's decision to set aside plans for a lifeboat to the station, limiting the permanent crew to three instead of six that were originally planned.
Three astronauts is the minimum number needed to run the space station, but scientists say more are required to conduct experiments -- the main purpose of the project.
Japanese news reports said the nations involved in the project were meeting Friday to decide if the crew should be boosted to six beginning in 2006.
O'Keefe said it was too soon to say how many extra crew would be needed by then, but said it "will be greater than three."The space station is expected to be fully operational between 2008-2010.
Cost-cutting at the Russian space program is also expected to diminish or slow the station construction.
But O'Keefe hailed Japan's contributions as "extremely productive." Tokyo, which has committed $2.6 billion or one-fifth of the program cost, is the second-largest contributor after the United States.
Japan also is building five major components for the space station, including an external robotic arm and a medical lab.
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