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WASHINGTON -- The leadership of the House Science Committee, the Congressional panel that authorizes NASA programs, wants NASA to halt work on the Orbital Space Plane, because of budget issues and concerns over the direction of the agencys human space flight program.
In an Oct. 21 letter to NASA Administrator Sean OKeefe, the committee expressed deep concern with NASAs approach to the program and urged the agency to defer work on the project until an inter-agency space review is completed by the White House and approved by the president and Congress.
The program will not be successful on its current track, said the letter, which was signed by Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-Texas), the chairman of the committee, and Rep. Ralph Hall (Texas), the ranking Democrat.
The Orbital Space Plane, billed as the nations next space vehicle, would be launched atop an expendable rocket and ferry astronaut crews to and from the international space station. Plans call for fielding an early space station crew rescue version of the vehicle by 2010, but NASA is considering moving up that schedule by two years.
Boehlert and Hall said in their letter that the committee is concerned that NASAs cost estimates for the program are not credible. NASA officials informed Congress in early October that fielding a crew rescue version of the Orbital Space Plane by 2008 could cost a total of $11 billion to $13 billion, at least $7 billion more than NASA has budgeted in its five-year plan that accompanies the agencys 2004 budget request.
Prior human space flight projects at NASA have been plagued by problems stemming from the unrealistic cost estimates put forth at their inception, the letter said. We are not prepared to let budgetary gamesmanship damage another NASA program, Boehlert and Hall said in their letter
The committee also wants NASA, Congress and the White House to agree on the direction the human space flight program should take beyond the international space station before the Orbital Space Plane program proceeds. Without such consensus on a shared vision, progress on all of these steps will stall and public support for the nations civilian space program will inevitably founder, the letter said.
Northrop Grumman, Boeing and Lockheed Martin were awarded contracts to design versions of the Orbital Space Plane. Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin announced in September that they would combine their efforts. NASA officials have said previously that they hope to award the prime contract for the Orbital Space Plane program in mid-2004.
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