WASHINGTON Any possibility that NASA could send the Space Shuttle to retrieve or redeploy the stranded Orion 3 satellite is not yet certain, from either a technical or budgetary standpoint, NASA headquarters told space.com Monday.

"It would take one to two years" to conduct such a space mission, most likely "closer to the two year point," NASA headquarters spokesperson Dwayne Brown said, and it isnt yet clear if such a space rescue would even be feasible from a technical standpoint. "We have to consider such things as training, procedures, and cost as well," Brown added.

"Its an exciting kind of scientific mission that wed like to see happen," Hughes spokesperson Don ONeal said. "Its in the realm of the possible, but not the likely. Id say right now its 50-50."

Hughes was seeking basic answers to questions like, is there a manifest for such a mission and how much would it cost. "Once we know these answers, we can decide if its even feasible to try such a rescue," ONeal added.

While the exact cost of such a flight wasnt yet calculated, ONeal suggested that a rescue would most likely be shared with other mission objectives or payloads. "Wed probably see it piggy-backed (with another payload) because the cost most likely would otherwise be prohibitive," ONeal said.

He said that the mission under review would call for a Space Shuttle to fly up to the stranded Orion 3 satellite, have the Shuttle crew attach a new solid rocket motor to the base of the satellite, which would then fire to send it on to geostationary orbit. A Delta III rocket failed to send the satellite to its proper destination when an upper stage engine malfunctioned following launch from Cape Canaveral last spring. The Space Shuttle Endeavour conducted a similar type of space rescue mission in May, 1992 when it retrieved a stranded Intelsat satellite, attached a new rocket motor to its base, and relaunched it into space.

But ONeal also pointed out if the mission is technically and economically possible, it still wouldnt be a done deal. NASA policy currently forbids use of the Space Shuttle for commercial flights. "A decision would have to be made at the executive level in Washington" to make an exception to the policy, ONeal said.

"Wed also like to do such a mission within two years, preferably 18 months," he suggested. The discussions with NASA will take more than a month, possibly two before technicians and engineers know if the rescue flight is possible at all.