This is not a NASA Website. You might learn something. It's YOUR space agency. Get involved. Take it back. Make it work - for YOU.
ISS News

Using ISS Needs To Extend Shuttle – Update

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
May 3, 2010
Filed under , , ,

Pitching for NASA, Hutchison back in the game, Houston Chronicle
“Legislation crafted by Hutchison in the Senate and Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, a Florida Democrat in the House, would require NASA to identify and make specific delivery arrangements for supplies and equipment needed by the orbiting space laboratory before steps are taken to end shuttle operations this year.”
Keith’s note: According to comments made by Jeff Bingham, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation Science and Space Subcommittee staffer, posting as “51D Mascot”: “Under a CR with everything at FY 2010 levels, shuttle funding would be retained at a level sufficient to enable continuing operations. There is nothing anywhere in statute requiring shuttle termination (anything written in recent statutes has pushed AGAINST that termination, actually, while not actually requiring continuation). The issue would be whether the agency could “reprogram” those funds to other uses consistent with the FY 2011 request as an administrative action. That’s technically “possible” but it will depend on whether the appropriators would find that acceptable. (no reason right now to think they wouldn’t but the debate on these major issues is really just beginning to gather steam within the Congress, so who knows?)”
and here
“Since NASA appears to be taking actions this year that are, or may be, in violation of the clause in the Omnibus bill, don’t be surprised to learn of legislative action in days and weeks to come to “fine tune” that language in some “appropriate” piece of legislation moving through the process at any time.”

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.