Thu, Oct 30, 2003
Shuttle Replacement In Doubt
"Mr. O'Keefe, this
committee has on its plate 17 dead astronauts, three in Apollo I --
preventable -- seven in the Challenger -- preventable -- and
apparently preventable in the Columbia."
Yikes.
That chilling refrain from South Carolina Senator Fritz Hollings
greeted NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe Wednesday at the Senate
Science Committee hearings on Capitol Hill. O'Keefe was there to
push for a $15 billion replacement for the aging space shuttle. The
very existence of the space program was what senators really had on
their minds.
Former Navy pilot and Vietnam veteran John McCain (R-AZ) told
O'Keefe, NASA's vision "has to be something that Americans can be
excited about and be committed to. And I'm afraid that's been
lacking recently in the whole NASA ... agenda."
One tough day on Capitol Hill for Mr. O'Keefe. The hotseat
treatment in the Senate came just a week after O'Keefe and company
were raked over the coals by the House Science Committee. Members
there wrote a blistering letter to the NASA chieftain, saying his
budget for the space plane project was unrealistic and doomed to
failure.
Still, O'Keefe forged ahead, saying NASA will accelerate the
intermediate shuttle replacement. Until now, the space plane wasn't
even scheduled for orbital tests until 2006.
Referring to recommendations from the Columbia Accident
Investigation Committee (CAIB), O'Keefe told Sen. Hollings on
Wednesday, "What we're trying to do with the orbital space plane,
with the crew transfer vehicle, is do precisely what the board
report has recommended, which is to separate the crew from the
cargo."
Based largely on existing technologies, NASA says the Orbital
Space Plane will provide safe, affordable access to the
International Space Station. The OSP program is more than a
spacecraft. The program will take an integrated systems approach to
design the entire space transportation system — including
ground operations, space vehicle and all supporting technologies
needed to conduct a mission to and from the International Space
Station. In addition, flight demonstrators such as the X-37 vehicle
will flight test advancing technologies to reduce the risk of
future reusable launch vehicle systems.
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