Augustine Panel Update: No Clear Consensus Yet

After hearing from the heads of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the astronaut office, and the Constellation program, the Augustine panel was briefed by one of its own subgroups during its public meeting today in League City, TX. The subgroup, led by former astronaut Sally Ride, was assigned to develop options for the future of the space shuttle, the future of the International Space Station (ISS), and the multi-year gap between the termination of the shuttle and the availability of its replacement. Subgroup members thoroughly briefed the panel on their findings, then asked for comments. Spirited exchanges ensued. Norm Augustine, chair of the full panel, commented that while he had thought the way forward was pretty clear after hearing the subgroup’s report, it was apparent from the ensuing debate that there was much more work to do. The other subgroups will report during the next two days of public meetings.