Blogger update, 11:20 a.m.: Here's a comment just released by Kosmas: "This amendment will save jobs at Kennedy Space Center and surrounding businesses that would otherwise be lost in the pending space flight gap," said Congresswoman Kosmas. "If the goal of the recovery package is to boost our economy, support science, and maintain and create high-skilled jobs, then our human spaceflight program is exactly the type of project we should be investing in."
This just in this morning from Eun Kyung Kim of Gannett News Service in Washington, D.C.:
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, the New Smyrna Beach Democrat whose district includes Kennedy Space Center, is expected to file an amendment Tuesday that would give NASA $2 billion in the economic-stimulus proposal considered by the House.
The move would come a day after Senate Democrats introduced their version of the bill -- one that allocates $1.5 billion for the space agency.
That's far more than the $600 million NASA would get under the stimulus bill proposed by the House earlier this month.
The $1.5 billion Senate version includes $500 million for space exploration, including efforts to shrink the five-year gap between the space shuttle's final mission next year and the first manned launch of its replacement.
The bill also includes $500 million for Earth science missions, $250 million for aeronautic programs and $2 million for NASA's inspector general office.
A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said the Florida Democrat felt "grateful, because it's $900 million more than the House bill."
U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez called the stimulus proposal "a great opportunity to put NASA back on track and shrink the manned space flight gap."
In December, the Florida Republican sent then-Vice President-elect Joseph Biden a letter seeking at least $2 billion in the stimulus proposal to help NASA shrink the five-year gap predicted between the space shuttle's final mission next year and the first manned launch of its replacement.
The amendment Kosmas plans to introduce Tuesday would allow NASA to use the extra money to either extend the life of the shuttle fleet beyond 2010 or accelerate construction of the Constellation program, which will replace the shuttles.
2 comments:
I would hope it would be used to extend the shuttle program. Just because you dump more money into a brand new project, it doesn't mean problems won't happen. It could actually cause problems. It would still have NASA trying to rush the completion of the Ares program. I just think something new like this should be taken at a slow pace. Stick to the original Ares schedule, and hopefully it will fly when it's supposed to. If something happens, at least you still have the shuttles flying. But if something happens to the development of Ares that significantly delays the program, and you've already retired the shuttle, then you're up a creek with no oars.
We lost our ability to fly in space after ASTP for almost 6 years. Now, we are building a replacement spacecraft that is a step backwards AND we are once again giving up our ability to fly in space. Is nothing ever learned?
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