Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Shutting Down The Shuttle

Only five shuttle missions remain on the schedule. If all goes as planned, the last one will launch in September, 2010, which means NASA will average a mission less than every two months. The first mission of the year is scheduled for February.

What happens after September is unclear. If the schedule slips, there are indications that both Congress and President Obama will support extending the program into 2011, if necessary. After the end of the shuttle program, the future of manned spaceflight at NASA is still undetermined. The Obama administration is still mulling options. After it decides whatever it decides, Congress will have its say.

A new U. S. space policy is likely quite a while away.

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