NASA Gives "Go" for Shuttle Launch; Defense of Constellation as Shuttle's Successor Begins in Earnest

NASA has given the go-ahead for the next launch of the space shuttle while a key Congressman issued a strong defense of the Constellation program as the successor to the space shuttle, which is rapidly approaching retirement.

STS-130 (Endeavour) is scheduled for launch at 4:39 a.m. EST on February 7, 2010. It will be the last night launch of the space shuttle. Endeavour will take the Tranquilty module and its European-built Cupola to the International Space Station. Only four more shuttle launches remain after this one unless the Obama Administration or Congress decides to extend the program, which appears very unlikely with the possible exception of a “launch on need” mission, STS 135.

Meanwhile, with media sources ramping up speculation that the FY2011 Obama budget request will not support the ongoing Constellation program as the successor to the space shuttle, Representative Pete Olson (R-TX) issued a biting press release today defending Constellation. Saying that the President and congressional Democrats had wasted money on a stimulus bill that failed to create jobs, he asserted that Constellation is “the best means for America to remain the global leader in human space flight.” He vowed to work with his congressional colleagues to ensure that any attempt by the Obama Administration to “reduce the role of human space flight at NASA” is “not the final answer on the future of NASA.” Rep. Olson is the ranking Republican on the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee of the House Science and Technology Committee. His district encompasses NASA’s Johnson Space Center where the Constellation program is managed.