HOUSTON -- Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) called for NASA to develop a crew rescue vehicle and to "stop pretending" that a three-person International Space Station (ISS) will live up to its billing as a world class science facility.

Speaking on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Oct. 17, Nelson offered his strongest criticism yet of NASA's plans to reduce its contributions to the ISS until cost management of the 16-nation program is brought under control.

NASA shocked its partners in 2001 when it announced that it was suspending development of a crew rescue vehicle, habitation module, and other elements in order to concentrate on a stripped down station configuration known as U.S. Core Complete. In recent weeks, however, senior NASA officials, including administrator Sean O'Keefe, have made vague but hopeful remarks about taking steps in the year ahead to expand crew size of the orbital outpost.

Nelson, however, appeared frustrated with NASA's continued lack of clear commitment to a fully functional ISS, a sentiment shared by many European, Canadian, and Japanese space officials here at the World Space Congress.

Nelson, who flew aboard the space shuttle while a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, urged NASA to return to the original plan for the space station.

"Under the Administration's plan, our ever-shrinking Space Station will waste both time and money over the long run, while failing to realize the unique potential of this international research facility," Nelson said, according to of a copy of prepared remarks released to reporters. "This Administration needs to stop pretending that Core Complete is a viable or a desirable goal for our country or our space-faring international partners. It is neither."