Budget Authorizes $2.5 Billion for NASA Shuttle Fleet

House and Senate leaders have agreed to authorize $2.5 billion to keep the U.S. space shuttle fleet flying through 2011, if such an extension is necessary to complete currently planned missions to the international space station.

Funding to maintain shuttle operations past the current deadline of December 2010 is part of the nonbinding $3.4 trillion budget blueprint passed by the House and Senate on Wednesday. Extra budget authority for the shuttles – which was not requested by the White House or interim leaders of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- is still subject to future House and Senate appropriations bills. But it's the strongest signal yet that lawmakers want to maintain the option of a one-year delay in phasing out the aging shuttle fleet.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

By contrast, NASA officials and some large agency contractors worry the result would be to shift badly-needed funding from shuttle replacement programs that already face big budget, technical and schedule challenges. Some NASA officials and outside advisers, while sticking with the December 2010 retirement deadline, have gone so far as to argue that funneling extra money to the shuttles may sap momentum of work on their replacements, together dubbed the Constellation program. NASA officials fear that further budget cuts to Constellation would endanger financial and public support for it.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.