NASA may not be able to launch the space shuttle’s replacement by 2014 as promised, according to the agency’s 2008 budget request to Congress. This could increase the gap between the retirement of the space shuttles in 2010 and the launch of their successors, the Orion spacecraft and Ares I rocket, forcing NASA to rely on Russian Soyuz and future commercial spacecraft to send astronauts to
the International Space Station (ISS).The potential delay is due to the combined effects of the higher-than-expected costs of returning the space shuttles to flight, budget cuts to the Orion and Ares programmes, and new legislation that may limit NASA’s 2007 funding to that of 2006.
“I’m concerned about our ability to bring these new capabilities online by 2014,” says NASA Administrator Michael Griffin. “If we do not quickly come to grips with this issue, we may have a prolonged gap between the end of the shuttle programme and the beginning of operational capability in our new systems, like that which occurred between 1975 and 1981, when we transitioned from Apollo to space shuttle.” He says the gap led to the loss of engineering know-how within NASA.
The gap between the retirement of the shuttles in 2010 and the first flights of Ares and Orion – which will occur no earlier than 2014 – will leave NASA dependent on other nations and private companies for launches to the ISS.
Jesus (or, possibly, Gus Grissom) wept.
(via Warren Ellis)