On November 13, 2002, President George W. Bush submitted
\nan amendment to his fiscal year 2003 budget request to
\naccelerate implementation of a new Integrated Space
\nTransportation Plan (ISTP) for NASA.
\n
\nDriven by the agency’s new vision and mission, the Administration
\nreleased details of a new, coordinated shift in three
\nof the agency’s important space flight programs. <\/p>\n
\nA new Integrated Space Transportation Plan (ISTP) is
\ndesigned to benefit the International Space Station,
\nSpace Shuttle, and NASA’s science and research
\nobjectives. The new ISTP dedicates more resources to
\nthe Space Station program; provides additional funding
\nto extend the life and enhance the safety and
\nreliability of the agency’s orbiter fleet; boosts
\nfunding for science-based payloads and research; and
\nrestructures NASA’s Space Launch Initiative (SLI),
\noriginally designed to identify next-generation
\nreusable launch vehicle technology.<\/p>\n
\nThe new ISTP reflects important changes to NASA’s
\nfive-year budget plan, but keeps costs within the
\noriginal 2003 fiscal budget.<\/p>\n
\n“The Bush Administration is proposing a comprehensive,
\nstrategic approach to link these critical programs to
\nspace transportation objectives,” said NASA
\nAdministrator Sean O’Keefe. “The new ISTP coordinates
\nour investments to enable science-driven exploration
\nand provides continued safe and reliable human access
\nto the International Space Station, ” he said.<\/p>\n
\nA crucial component of the new ISTP is the development
\nof a crew transport vehicle. The concept of an Orbital
\nSpace Plane reflects NASA’s need to ferry Space
\nStation crewmembers and to ensure that a capability
\nexists to get the crew home if there’s an emergency.
\nThe concept will be the immediate objective of SLI’s
\nnew research efforts.<\/p>\n
\nAdministrator O’Keefe said the Orbital Space Plane is
\nbeneficial on several levels. “It’s based on existing
\ntechnologies and therefore lowers risk and is more
\naffordable. It will replace the Space Shuttle as the
\nprimary crew transport vehicle, freeing the orbiter
\nfleet to focus on heavy cargo delivery,” he said.<\/p>\n
\nSLI would continue to identify future reusable launch
\nvehicle technology through a new Next Generation
\nLaunch Technology program, investing money in
\npropulsion, structures and other key areas.<\/p>\n
\n“NASA’s initial investment in the Space Launch
\nInitiative is what makes the new ISTP possible, and
\nSLI will continue to work to identify future
\ntechnologies that will eventually allow us to leave
\nlow Earth orbit,” concluded Administrator O’Keefe.
\n“SLI provided us with the direction, and we feel this
\nnew ISTP provides a tightly integrated, systematic
\napproach to address NASA’s future space transportation
\nneeds,” he said. <\/p>\n
\nDetails of the President’s budget amendment are
\navailable on the Internet at:
\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/news\/ <\/a><\/p>\n