Congressional testimony on future of human spaceflight

04/03/03 00:00:00    

By Michael Mealling

NSS executive director Brian Chase appeared before the House Space and Aeronautics subcommittee of the Science Committee to provide testimony on NSS's perspective on NASA's human space flight programs and how those initiatives relate to efforts to develop new space transportation systems. The question is what to do to prevent our current human spaceflight incapacity from recurring. NASA has a new “Integrated Space Transportation Plan” in the FY 2004 budget proposal, which envisions development of a reusable Orbital Space Plane (OSP) to provide crew transport to ISS, reliable crew return from ISS, but launched via the EELV expendable vehicles (Delta IV or Atlas). It also involves extending the life of the current shuttles and developing a fully reusable shuttle replacement, the Next Generation Launch Technology program. p. Chase endorses the OSP, while recommending the timetable be greatly accelerated so we don't have to wait until 2012 to see it in action; that means using current established technology, not making it yet another technology development program that leads nowhere… He also strongly recommends an expendable cargo vehicle be developed (or use the EELV's as they are) to provide access to ISS for heavy payloads without having to rely on the Shuttle. p. And his point then is, that if these two things are accomplished, we will have new capabilities to use them for other things we want to be doing in space as well, beyond ISS and shuttle programs. bq. Beyond those elements, we should carefully consider our next steps. Focusing exclusively on reusable launch vehicles may be the right choice if we seek routine access for crew and low-to-medium weight cargo. But if we opt to launch heavy cargo (such as components for a mission to Mars), then expendable launch vehicles may better fill that role. So the nation needs to develop a long-term space exploration architecture to provide a clear direction for the future to help direct these efforts. NASA has begun an initiative to accomplish this important task, but it needs public and political support to remain a key part of the NASA agenda. Without that underlying vision for tomorrow, it makes it more difficult to make the right decisions today.