What do Senators Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX) have in common? A particularly strong affinity for the shuttle, it appears, based on an essay jointly written by the two published in Sunday’s Florida Today. The essay starts as a fairly generic endorsement of the Vision for Space Exploration, but later on the two make it clear they believe the shuttle should continue flying as long as possible. “Critics have suggested shutting down the shuttle program entirely, but that would only paralyze our space program,” they write, perhaps thinking of their colleague, Sen. Sam Brownback, who has suggested in the past shutting down the shuttle program before NASA’s planned date of 2010 (or so). They also subtly suggest keeping the shuttle around after the completion of the ISS, hinting that the Crew Exploration Vehicle could be delayed by “predictable problems” and cost overruns. “Other nations are now actively targeting the moon and Mars, and if we allow our shuttle fleet to sit idle, there is no question they could bypass us,” they write. “Our nation cannot risk replacing the best spacecraft in existence with nothing.”
Isn’t our space program pretty much already paralyzed by the shuttle? Can’t these two see the problems in having all the eggs in one launch basket?
The op-ed leaves a little bit to be desired. Note how it says “we” in some places and “I” in another, as if it was written by one senator’s staff for him to sign, and at the last minute they decided to get a co-signer.
It’s also not well-argued. But it is a defensible position. Nelson has long said that he is concerned about a gap during which the United States has no human spaceflight capability. That is a reasonable concern (although also worth debating–the planned gap is about 4-5 years and we are right now in the middle of an unplanned 2-year gap). And the letter is right to note that projects always get delayed, so the gap could be longer.
There is also the additional question whether it is possible or safe to rush all the ISS flights into a 2010 deadline. I imagine a lot of people would like a 1-2 year slip.