Senators rap NASA on rocket design delay - Your Houston News
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tx) is not letting up on NASA and its delay in announcing the design of the new Space Launch System.
She said Wednesday, Aug. 24, that the failure of the Russian Progress resupply mission earlier in the day underscores the need to sustain America's leadership in space.
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala) joined her in calling for the space agency to announce the design of the heavy launch vehicle after the Russian rocket veered off course and exploded.
It was carrying about six months of food and supplies for the occupants of the International Space Station.
"We strongly encourage NASA to immediately announce this week – not next month – the design for their next launch vehicle, which will halt the further loss of skilled aerospace workers now poised to be laid off from the NASA manned spaceflight program."
In light of that explosion, the senators said "it is fortunate the Congress authorized the final flight of the space shuttle to provide supplies to ensure long term viability of the ISS. Without the cargo provided by the shuttle, the ISS, and our astronauts, would be in a more precarious logistical situation.
"This failure underscores the importance of successful development of our own national capabilities and at the same time demonstrates the risks with having limited options for ISS supply and crew rotation.
BACK UP NEEDED
"As we have already seen with the multi-year delay with commercial providers of cargo to the space station, the country would greatly benefit from the timely implementation of the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 and development of the Space Launch System as a back-up system."
NASA has already received the independent cost assessment for the Space Launch System requested by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), they pointed out.
"This additional independent cost assessment confirms what NASA officials have known for months: The NASA approach to human space flight is sound, achievable, and can be initiated within our currently constrained fiscal limitations. Regrettably, the administration has used a series of redundant studies to stall the progress of our nation's human space exploration program. It is now time to make a decision."
URGED ACTION EARLIER
Back in July the Texas senator, the Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, called for immediate action by the Obama administration and the OMB to approve a new heavy lift launch capability to take astronauts out beyond Earth's orbit in a new multi-purpose crew vehicle, as directed by the 2010 NASA Authorization Act.
"NASA has spent the past eight months re-studying options and variations of launch vehicles that have been looked at for years," she said then. "They finally announced the plan to develop the crew vehicle, using the Orion design, in May. We now have it confirmed that a final technical design decision on the heavy lift vehicle was made . . . on June 20.
"Although the studies leading to that design decision included independent cost estimates, the Office of Management and Budget has deferred endorsing that technical decision until it can see another independent cost analysis for the project.
NO NEED FOR DELAY
No one questions the need to ensure the best understanding of program costs, Hutchison said. "We do that every year on an ongoing basis with every major NASA program, as we set spending levels in our annual budget. There is simply no need to defer announcing the vehicle design decision while awaiting yet another cost review.
"To do so only increases the real human cost that NASA employees and contractors are experiencing in the face of continued uncertainty about the future. Without a decision we will continue to lose skilled workers that we need to build the shuttle replacements.
"Besides the toll this will take on workers and their families, who have contributed so much to science, our national security, and the economy, it will be difficult and more costly to replace this invaluable human capital.
"We have the information to make a decision now, and I call on the administration and OMB to immediately make public and approve NASA's technical design decision on the heavy lift vehicle."
25 Aug, 2011--
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