Government Accountability Office Report: Space Gap Likely To Widen – Weldon Presses Case For Shuttle Extension

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier today the Government Accountability Office (GAO) testified before a Congressional Committee indicating that a number of technological challenges facing the Constellation program are likely to delay the program, thus widening the “space gap.”

“History has shown us time and again that no matter how much we do to close gaps, large scale programs face challenging technical problems are almost always delayed,” said Weldon. “This is further proof that the only way to shorten or eliminate the flight gap is to extend the Shuttle program. My bill does that.”

The GAO assessment reads in part:

“There are considerable schedule pressures facing both the Ares I and Orion projects. These are largely rooted in NASA’s desire to minimize the gap between the retirement of the space shuttle and availability of the new vehicles. Because of this scheduling goal, NASA is planning to conduct many interdependent development activities concurrently– meaning if one activity should slip in schedule, it could have cascading effects on other activities. Moreover, some aspects of the program are already experiencing scheduling delays due to the fact that high-level requirements are still being defined.”

“If our community is going to rely on NASA to close the gap by meeting or exceeding its current schedule, we’re in trouble,” said Weldon. “The best way to avoid an employment disaster is to put new money into NASA’s budget to fly the Shuttle during the Constellation development. This will tack pressure off of NASA and more importantly provide a softer landing to the employees at KSC.”

The full testimony is available on Rep. Weldon’s website at www.weldon.house.gov.