Griffin Thanks Obama For Waiver Support

Blogger note: updated at 1:45 p.m.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has thanked Sen. Barack Obama, among more than 30 congressional legislators, for support that helped win renewal of a waiver needed to continue sending American astronauts to the International Space Station after the shuttle's 2010 retirement.

"Without your leadership, this would not have happened," Griffin wrote in a letter dated Oct. 2. "Thank you."

You can read a copy of the letter here. It was provided by Obama's Washington office, and first posted by the Web site NASA Watch.

The waiver, approved by President Bush on Sept. 30, allows the United States to buy rides on Russian Soyuz spacecraft, an option that was thrown into doubt after Russia's invasion of Georgia.

A press representative for Sen. John McCain, Obama's Republican opponent for president, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the senator's position on the waiver, or whether he received a letter from Griffin.

Griffin wrote that he was "deeply grateful" for Obama's support of the waiver, which included this Sept. 22 letter he sent to Democratic congressional leaders.

Neither Obama nor McCain actually cast a vote for the spending resolution that included the waiver, which passed the senate by a 78-12 vote on Sept. 27.

That was the day after Obama and McCain met for their first presidential debate in Oxford, Miss.

The spending resolution continued funding in March for a number of federal agencies, including NASA, at 2008 levels.